Cytosolic aconitase activity in mouse small intestine: iron dependence.
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Aconitate Hydratase↗
Biomedical subjects
R J Simpson
Publications and source records attributed to R J Simpson.
Iron speciation at physiological pH in media containing ascorbate and oxygen.
The stability of iron ascorbate solutions was investigated, under both anaerobic and aerobic conditions, with the Fe2+ and Fe3+ indicators, respectively ferrozine and mimosine, at different pH values. The species present under the differing conditions were investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and Mössbauer spectroscopy and by gel-filtration chromatography. At physiological pH (6.8-7.4) iron ascorbate solutions rapidly form mononuclear chelatable Fe3+ species as reflected by indicator studies and EPR. Mössbauer spectroscopy fails to detect any Fe2+ species. EPR studies show a time-dependent decrease in rhombic Fe3+, particularly in oxygenated buffers, consistent with a conversion to polynuclear Fe. O2 uptake studies show that the conversion of Fe2+ to Fe3+ in Fe-ascorbate solutions at pH > 7.0 was accompanied by rapid O2 consumption but preceded depletion of ascorbate. Addition of high concentrations of mannitol (50-200 mM) reduces the O2 consumption and partly stabilizes the rapidly chelatable Fe form. Gel filtration studies show that the oxidation of Fe-ascorbate solutions at pH 7.4 is accompanied by an increase in the apparent relative molecular mass of the Fe, presumably due to Fe polymer formation. These studies indicate that inherent instability of Fe-ascorbate solutions above neutral pH and clearly have important implications in the use of ascorbate in studies of Fe physiology.
Animals↗
Proteinase inhibitors in Nicotiana alata stigmas are derived from a precursor protein which is processed into five homologous inhibitors.
A cDNA clone, NA-PI-II, encoding a protein with partial identity to proteinase inhibitor (PI) II of potato and tomato has been isolated from a cDNA library constructed from Nicotiana alata stigma and style mRNA. The cDNA encodes a polypeptide of 397 amino acids with a putative signal peptide of 29 amino acids and six repeated domains, each with a potential reactive site. Domains 1 and 2 have chymotrypsin-specific sites and domains 3, 4, 5, and 6 have sites specific for trypsin. In situ hybridization experiments demonstrated that expression of the gene is restricted to the stigma of both immature and mature pistils. Peptides with inhibitory activity toward chymotrypsin and trypsin have been isolated from stigmas of N. alata. The N-terminal amino acid sequence obtained from this protein preparation corresponds to six regions in the cDNA clone NA-PI-II. The purified PI protein preparation is likely to be composed of a mixture of up to five similar peptides of approximately 6 kD, produced in vivo by proteolytic processing of a 42-kD precursor. The PI may function to protect the reproductive tissue against potential pathogens.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Identification of canary grass (Phalaris aquatica) pollen allergens by immunoblotting: IgE and IgG antibody-binding studies.
The pollen of canary grass, which was introduced as a pasture grass from Europe, is a major allergen in the external environment of southern Australia. Seventeen allergenic fractions of canary grass pollen, ranging in mol. mass from 14 to 100 kDa, have been identified by immunoblotting, using IgE antibodies from sera of 24/30 grass-pollen-allergic subjects. The highest frequency of IgE binding (77%) was to a major 34-kDa fraction (tentatively designated Pha a I). This protein has been partially purified and identified as a group I allergen by immunodepletion experiments, with partially purified Lol p I (from rye-grass pollen), atopic serum, and Lol p I-specific MAb. In addition, microsequencing of the N-terminus of Pha a I showed an amino acid sequence identical to Lol p I. In a separate study, IgE binding to Western blots of Pha a I, Lol p I, and Cyn d I was investigated in 24 sera and found to occur in 19/24, 18/24, and 9/24, respectively. IgE binding to all three major allergens, and to both Pha a I and Lol p I, occurred in 8/24 sera. Our findings suggest that while the N-terminal sequence of Pha a I is identical to Lol p I, there may be specific allergenic epitopes exclusive to this allergen that are important for allergenicity in southern Australia.
Allergens↗
Rate of 59Fe uptake into brain and cerebrospinal fluid and the influence thereon of antibodies against the transferrin receptor.
Uptake of 59Fe from blood into brains of anaesthetized rats and mice has been studied by intravenous infusion of [59Fe]ferrous ascorbate or of 59Fe-transferrin, the results not being significantly different. Uptakes in the rat were linear with time, but increased at longer times in the mouse. Transfer constants, K(in) (in ml/g/h x 10(3)), for cerebral hemispheres were 5.2 in the adult rat and 5.6 in the mouse. These K(in) values corresponded to 59Fe influxes of 145 and 322 pmol/g/h, respectively. 59Fe uptake into the mouse brain occurred in the following order: cerebellum > brainstem > frontal cerebral cortex > parietal cortex > occipital cortex > hippocampus > caudate nucleus. In genetically hypotransferrinaemic mice, 59Fe uptake into brain was 80-95 times greater than in To strain mice. Pretreatment of young rats and mice with monoclonal antibodies to transferrin receptors, i.e., the anti-rat immunoglobulin G OX 26 and the anti-mouse immunoglobulin M RI7 208, inhibited 59Fe uptake into spleen by 94% and 98%, respectively, indicating saturation of receptors. The antibodies reduced 59Fe uptake into rat brain by 35-60% and that into mouse brain by 65-85%. Although a major portion of iron transport across the blood-brain barrier is normally transferrin-mediated, non-transferrin-bound iron readily crosses it at low serum transferrin levels.
Animals↗
Follow-up of a cohort of men with untreated benign prostatic hyperplasia.
A cohort of 266 men with untreated benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) identified in a community-based survey were followed for a period of 1 year. Although the overall prevalence of urinary symptoms increased during the year, substantial within-subject variation in urinary symptomatology occurred, with up to a quarter of men reporting urgency and dribbling to have improved whilst one third of men reported other urinary symptoms to have deteriorated. Levels of bothersomeness caused by urinary symptoms did not show much change during the period of follow-up. An overall increase of 19% in urinary peak flow which was also consistent across all age groups was present at 1 year compared with baseline, even after adjusting for increased urinary void volume. A slow progression in the extent to which interference with selected activities of daily living by urinary dysfunction occurred. This was greater in men of working age (40-64 years), compared with men of retirement age (65-79 years). A longer period of observation is required in order to determine the extent to which a consistent pattern of urinary symptomatology exists in untreated BPH, as well as whether interference with daily living activities continues to progress over time.
Activities of Daily Living↗
Impact of previously unrecognized benign prostatic hyperplasia on the daily activities of middle-aged and elderly men.
To assess the importance of benign prostatic hyperplasia on activities of daily living, a cross-sectional survey of 1627 men aged 40-79 years (representing a 65% response rate) registered with two health centres in central Scotland was carried out, using a urinary symptom questionnaire and uroflowmetry to identify men more likely to have benign prostatic hyperplasia. The condition was defined as a prostate gland of more than 20 g in the presence of symptoms of urinary dysfunction and/or a peak flow rate of less than 15 ml s-1, without evidence of malignancy. Transrectal ultrasonography was used to measure the volume (and by inference weight) of prostate glands. A total of 410 men satisfied the criteria for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Overall, 51% of men with benign prostatic hyperplasia reported interference with at least one of a number of selected activities of daily living as a result of urinary dysfunction, compared with 28% of men who did not have this condition. In 17% of men of working age (40-64 years) with benign prostatic hyperplasia, this interference occurred most or all of the time for at least one activity of daily living compared with only 3% of men in the same age group who did not have this condition. If the criteria of unmet need for treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia constitutes interference by urinary dysfunction most or all of the time in at least one activity of daily living, then the findings of this survey suggest that a substantial number of middle aged and elderly men living in the United Kingdom may be in need of assessment and treatment for this condition.
Activities of Daily Living↗
Preparation of highly purified human myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein in quantities sufficient for encephalitogenicity and immunogenicity studies.
Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein, (MOG), a quantitatively minor central nervous system (CNS) myelin component, is a candidate target antigen for autoimmune-mediated demyelination. It is a highly hydrophobic protein present in very small amounts in CNS tissue and thereby difficult to purify. Our aim was to devise a purification procedure that would yield sufficient quantities of highly purified MOG to subsequently test its potential encephalitogenic activity, as well as investigate the humoral and cell-mediated responses to this antigen in naturally occurring and experimentally induced autoimmune demyelinating diseases. MOG was purified from human CNS white matter using immunoaffinity chromatography, a procedure that gave a final yield of MOG corresponding to 0.02% total white matter protein. The final product, which migrated as two bands of molecular weight 28 kDa and 58 kDa, was highly pure as shown also by specific reactivity with monoclonal anti-MOG antibodies on immunoblots in the absence of any detectable reactivity with antibodies specific for myelin basic protein, proteolipid protein and myelin-associated glycoprotein. Partial amino acid sequence was obtained from both MOG bands separated by SDS-PAGE and electroblotted onto PVDF. The sequence of the first 17 N-terminal amino acids had approximately 55% homology with the reported rat MOG sequence deduced from the cloned cDNA sequence; small internal sequences obtained showed also very high homology. Our purified MOG preparations have been used to investigate T cell response to MOG by peripheral blood lymphocytes of multiple sclerosis patients and to induce a relapsing remitting demyelinating disease in Lewis rats.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Non-transferrin-bound iron species in the serum of hypotransferrinaemic mice.
Serum from homozygous hypotransferrinaemic mice (a mixed group of males and females, aged 6-8 wk) was found to contain low levels of iron (mean 0.9 +/- 0.5 microM (SEM, n = 4), as assayed by conventional serum iron assays. Similarly, low levels of non-transferrin-bound iron were determined with a nitrilotriacetate chelation assay (1.3 +/- 0.4 microM, n = 4) (Singh, S., Hider, R.C. and Porter, J.B. (1990) Analytical Biochemistry 186, 320-323). Mononuclear Fe (citrate) was undectable by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR). Significantly larger quantities of iron (16 +/- 5 microM, n = 8) were detected by the bleomycin assay (Gutteridge, J.M.C., Rowley, D.A. and Halliwell, B. (1981) Biochemical Journal 199, 263-265), while non-haem iron assay or atomic absorption spectrophotometry revealed up to 96 microM iron. Haemoglobin iron was detectable at approximately 10 microM by spectrophotometry. Ferri-haem was undetectable by EPR spectroscopy. Serum ferritin levels of 641 +/- 128 micrograms/l (n = 14) in hypotransferrinaemic mice (wild-types 44 +/- 6 micrograms/l, n = 14) were observed and these cannot account for the non-transferrin-bound iron. Hypotransferrinaemic mouse serum therefore contains large quantities of non-transferrin-bound iron which is unreactive in some assays used to detect such iron in human iron overload. Fractionation by Sephadex G200 chromatography revealed three distinct species with apparent molecular weights of > or = 150 kDa, 40-80 kDa and 1-5 kDa. The iron may be distinguished from known extracellular iron proteins and haem-proteins by its availability to hot acid extractions.
Animals↗
Hematocrit and iron absorption.
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Absorption↗
A major binding protein for leukemia inhibitory factor in normal mouse serum: identification as a soluble form of the cellular receptor.
A protein that specifically binds leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) has been isolated from normal mouse serum by using four successive fractionation steps: chromatography on a LIF affinity matrix, anion-exchange chromatography, size-exclusion chromatography, and preparative native gel electrophoresis. The purified LIF-binding protein (LBP) is a glycoprotein with an apparent molecular mass of 90 kDa that specifically binds 125I-labeled murine LIF with an affinity comparable to that of the low-affinity cellular LIF receptor (Kd = 600 pM). N-terminal sequencing has identified this protein as a soluble truncated form of the alpha chain of the cellular LIF receptor. LBP is present in normal mouse serum at high levels (1 microgram/ml) and these levels are elevated in pregnant mice and reduced in neonatal mice. Since normal serum concentrations of LBP can block the biological actions of LIF in culture, LBP may serve as an inhibitor of the systemic effects of locally produced LIF.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Purification and characterization of a recombinant murine interleukin-6. Isolation of N- and C-terminally truncated forms.
Murine interleukin-6 (IL-6), when expressed in Escherichia coli using the pUC9 vector, accumulated as insoluble aggregates or 'inclusion bodies'. After selective urea washing of the inclusion bodies, to remove extraneous proteins, murine IL-6 was solubilized with 8 M guanidine hydrochloride and then rapidly purified to homogeneity by gel-permeation chromatography followed by reversed-phase HPLC. It was demonstrated that complete disulfide bond formation in murine IL-6 occurred during the early urea washing/guanidine hydrochloride extraction steps, so no refolding step was required. When fully reduced murine IL-6 was dissolved in 8 M guanidine hydrochloride and allowed to air-oxidize, complete disulfide bond formation, monitored by analytical reversed-phase HPLC, was shown to occur within 13 h at 6 degrees C. About 25 mg pure protein was obtained from 37 g wet cells. This recombinant murine IL-6 had a specific activity in the hybridoma growth factor assay of 2 x 10(8) U/mg, which is equivalent to that of native murine IL-6. During the purification procedure, a number of variant forms of murine IL-6 were isolated and partially characterized. Two of these forms, T1 and T3, were C-terminal deletants of murine IL-6 lacking about 60 and 20 amino acids from the C-terminus, respectively, while the other form, T2, was an N-terminal deletant lacking 37 amino acids from the N-terminus. None of these variant forms of murine IL-6 bound to the murine IL-6 receptor and, consequently, all were inactive in the hybridoma growth factor assay.
Amino Acids↗
Investigation of a role for reduction in ferric iron uptake by mouse duodenum.
59Fe uptake rates by mouse duodenal fragments incubated in vitro were markedly reduced by non-permeable reagents, ferricyanide (oxidising agent) and ferrozine (Fe2+ chelator), in the medium; ferrocyanide had no effect. Reduction of Fe3+, as reflected by an increase in ferrozine-(Fe2+)-chelatable iron, was observed in the presence of the tissue fragments. The generation of Fe2+ occurred linearly with time, was independent of the medium ferrozine concentration, and was not due to release of reducing factors from the duodenal fragments. Fe(3+)-reducing activity was mainly present on the mucosal surface and was localised primarily to the proximal region of the small intestine. Changes in Fe3+ reduction rates closely parallelled the changes in duodenal 59Fe uptake, when metabolic inhibitors or modulators of membrane potential were included in the medium. The enhancement in duodenal mucosal 59Fe uptake in chronic hypoxic and iron-deficient mice parallelled the changes in the tissue reduction of medium Fe3+. Moreover, the rates of reduction were quantitatively similar to rates of uptake. These observations indicate that a sequential reduction and uptake process operates for Fe3+ uptake in mouse duodenum.
Animals↗
Application of capillary reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography to high-sensitivity protein sequence analysis.
A continuous gradient elution method for capillary column (less than 0.32 mm I.D.) liquid chromatography was developed. Gradient eluent from a microbore liquid chromatograph was split ahead of the injector so that an accurate percentage (2-3%) of the mobile phase delivered by the pump flowed through the capillary column. The outlet of the column was connected to a length of 0.075 mm I.D. fused-silica capillary tubing which, in turn, was connected to a 6-mm optical path length longitudinal capillary flow cell. Fused-silica capillary columns of 0.32 mm I.D. were slurry-packed efficiently with 7-microns spherical, 300 A pore size, C8 bonded-phase particles, and evaluated in terms of their ability to resolve mixtures of proteins, peptides or phenylthiohydantoin (PTH)-amino acid derivatives. The gradient elution profiles agreed with those obtained using microbore (less than 2.1 mm I.D.) and larger bore columns. The minimum detectable amounts for proteins and PTH-amino acids on 0.32 mm I.D. capillary columns were 50 pg and 25 fmol, respectively. At a flow-rate of 3.6 microliters/min, proteins and peptides were recovered from the capillary columns in volumes of about 2-8 microliters. The use of a multiple-wavelength, forward-optics detector for identifying tryptophan- and tyrosine-containing peptides is discussed.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Purification and structural analysis of a murine chemotactic cytokine (CP-10) with sequence homology to S100 proteins.
In delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions, cytokine-mediated cell migration leads to localized accumulation of neutrophils and mononuclear cells over 4-48 h. In contrast to transient (2-6 h) responses elicited by other chemotactic factors, earlier studies indicated that a chemotactic activity previously described in our laboratory elicited skin test responses over 24 h, identical to those induced by injection of antigen into a sensitized test subject. We have isolated this factor, a 10.3-kDa chemotactic protein designated CP-10, from supernatants of activated murine spleen cells. Purification to homogeneity was achieved using affinity chromatography on iminodiacetic acid-immobilized copper and cation-exchange, mixed mode (cation exchange/metal affinity), reversed-phase, and size-exclusion high performance liquid chromatography. CP-10 had maximal chemotactic activity for neutrophils at 10(-13) M. The 76-amino acid sequence, obtained by automated N-terminal microsequence analysis of native CP-10, and fragments derived from trypsin digestion and cyanogen bromide cleavage indicated no sequence identity with any known cytokine or chemotactic factor but revealed up to 55% sequence homology with S100, Ca2(+)-binding proteins. CP-10 appears to be the first protein of this family with a well defined function affecting cell migration, and its biological potency suggests an important role for this cytokine in cellular immune reactions.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Rapid purification of the gastric H+/K(+)-ATPase complex by tomato-lectin affinity chromatography.
We have previously shown that tomato lectin binds specifically to the 60-90 kDa membrane glycoprotein of parietal cell tubulovesicles, the beta-subunit of the gastric H+/K(+)-ATPase (proton pump) [Callaghan, Toh, Pettitt, Humphris & Gleeson (1990) J. Cell Sci. 95, 563-576; Toh, Gleeson, Simpson, Mortiz, Callaghan, Goldkorn, Jones, Martinelli, Mu, Humphris, Pettitt, Mori, Masuda, Sobieszczuk, Weinstock, Mantamadiotis & Baldwin (1990) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 87, 6418-6422]. Here we have exploited this interaction for the development of a rapid single-step chromatography procedure for the purification of an active pig gastric proton pump complex. Initially, H+/K(+)-ATPase-enriched membranes, prepared from pig gastric microsomes by density-gradient centrifugation, were extracted in 1% Triton X-100 and passed through a 1 ml tomato lectin-Sepharose 4B column. The bound material, eluted with 20 mM-chitotriose, showed a major band with an apparent molecular mass of 95 kDa, and a faint broad band of 60-90 kDa, by SDS/PAGE. N-Glycanase treatment of the bound material resulted in the appearance of a 35 kDa band, the size of the protein core of the 60-90 kDa glycoprotein beta-subunit. The two components were identified as the 95 kDa alpha-subunit and the 60-90 kDa beta-subunit of the gastric H+/K(+)-ATPase, by immunoreactivity with monospecific antibodies, and by tryptic peptide sequences of the tomato-lectin-bound material. The beta-subunit was present in approximately equimolar amounts to the catalytic alpha-subunit. Whereas the gastric H+/K(+)-ATPase was not active after solubilization in 1% Triton X-100, solubilization of density-gradient-purified membranes in the non-ionic detergent, C12E8, followed by chromatography of the extract on tomato lectin-Sepharose 4B, resulted in the purification of the gastric H+/K(+)-ATPase complex which exhibited K(+)-dependent phosphatase activity. This is the first report of a rapid purification of a partially active solubilized gastric H+/K(+)-ATPase complex.
Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
Isolation and characterization of a novel receptor-type protein tyrosine kinase (hek) from a human pre-B cell line.
In this report we describe the identification and characterization of a novel tumor-associated receptor-type tyrosine kinase (hek). We produced a monoclonal antibody (III.A4) that detected a novel glycoprotein on the immunizing pre-B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell line (LK63). This antigen was shown to be expressed sporadically on hemopoietic tumor cell lines and on ex vivo tumors. However, using antibody staining, the molecule was undetectable on normal tissues. Further biochemical characterization showed this molecule (hek) to be a phosphoroprotein. This observation taken together with the tumor-associated nature of hek expression suggested that hek might be a receptor-type protein tyrosine kinase. This was demonstrated by affinity purification of hek. In in vitro kinase experiments the purified hek protein was autophosphorylated on tyrosine and also mediated tyrosine phosphorylation of casein. Purified hek was subjected to N-terminal amino acid sequence analysis which showed that hek had a unique N terminus. Amino acid sequence determination of peptides from a V8 protease digest of hek yielded one 21-amino acid stretch of sequence which showed close homology with the eph subfamily of protein tyrosine kinases. These studies show hek to be a novel human tumor-associated protein tyrosine kinase, which by analogy with previously characterized protein tyrosine kinase proto-oncogenes, may have a role in tumorigenesis.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Automated solid-phase peptide synthesis: use of 2-(1H-benzotriazol-1-yl)-1,1,3,3-tetramethyluronium tetrafluoroborate for coupling of tert-butyloxycarbonyl amino acids.
2-(1H-Benzotriazol-1-yl)-1,1,3,3-tetramethyluronium tetrafluoroborate (TBTU) has been adapted for use as a coupling reagent for tert-butyloxycarbonyl (Boc) amino acids in automated solid-phase peptide synthesis. When compared to the existing preformed symmetrical anhydride procedure employing dicyclohexyl-carbodiimide (DCC), the use of TBTU in the presence of 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HOBt) provides a more efficient coupling procedure for Boc-amino acid derivatives. Overall cycle times using TBTU/HOBt coupling reagents (30 min) compare favorably to those of the DCC-mediated procedure (approx 65 min). Dimethylformamide can be used as the sole solvent for both activation and coupling reactions. Implementation of TBTU/HOBt coupling conditions does not require replumbing of any lines of the Applied Biosystems Model 430A instrument and necessitates changes to only three reagent bottle positions. The variable coupling efficiencies of Boc-asparagine following activation with TBTU/HOBt (as low as 89%) can be overcome by protection of the amide function of Boc-asparagine with the 9-xanthyl group. Examples of the synthesis and characterization of a number of peptides ranging in length from 13 to 29 residues are given.
Amino Acid Sequence↗