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Biomedical subjects

R Koren

Publications and source records attributed to R Koren.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Synthetic leader peptide modulates secretion of proteins from microinjected Xenopus oocytes.

To investigate the role of the leader peptide in modulating secretion from living cells, we injected a synthetic peptide into Xenopus oocytes. The peptide consisted of the NH2-terminal leader sequence of mouse immunoglobulin light chain precursor. We found that the leader peptide has two different roles in regulating secretion from the oocytes. First, it competitively inhibits the synthesis of secretory and membrane proteins but not of cytoplasmic proteins. The inhibition occurs both with oocyte proteins and with proteins directed by coinjected myeloma mRNA. The inhibition reaches a maximum 2 hr after injection and decays within 3 hr. It appears to be mediated through the cell membrane, because 125I-labeled leader peptide segregates into the membrane fraction of microinjected oocytes simultaneously with the interference with methionine incorporation. A second role of the microinjected leader peptide is to induce a rapid acceleration in the rate of export of secretory proteins from the oocyte. The maximal enhancement effect is obtained upon injection of 50 ng of leader peptide per oocyte. It is not merely due to the small size, negative charge, or hydrophobicity of the peptide, because enhanced secretion does not occur when glucagon, poly-L-glutamic acid, or Triton X-100 is injected. Furthermore, immunoreaction of the peptide with specific antibodies prior to microinjection prevents the accelerated export. Our observations indicate that in Xenopus oocytes, the leader peptide is involved in both translocation and later step(s) in the secretory pathway.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

The effect of verapamil, lanthanum and local anesthetics of serotonin release from rabbit platelets.

The effect of calcium blockers (verapamil, local anesthetics and lanthanum chloride) on serotonin release from rabbit platelets was studied. The following results were obtained: (1) Verapamil and tetracaine (but not lanthanum) caused a time- and dose-dependent release of serotonin. The curves describing the time-course and those describing the concentration dependence of the release were sigmoid, suggesting cooperativity. (2) Thrombin-induced release from the platelets was dependent upon extracellular sodium ions, while no dependence was observed for the drug-induced release. (3) The release by verapamil was partially inhibited by prostaglandin E1 and theophylline which are known to raise intracellular cAMP levels, but was unaffected by the prostaglandin-synthesis inhibitor, indomethacin. (4) Verapamil, tetracaine and lanthanum inhibited thrombin-induced release of serotonin. The curve of dose dependence of the inhibition by verapamil and tetracaine was not sigmoid. The inhibition by verapamil and tetracaine was reversed by extracellular calcium ions, but no effect of this ion on the drug-induced release reaction was observed. It is concluded that the serotonin release induced by some calcium blockers and the inhibition of the thrombin-induced release by the same drugs are two separate phenomena. It is suggested that verapamil and tetracaine-induced release are mediated by exocytotic processes brought about by the interference of the drugs with calcium distribution between the cytosol and storage compartments within the platelet.

Alprostadil↗
PubMed1982

The kinetics of the reaction between bovine serum albumin and bilirubin. A second look.

The kinetics of the reaction between bilirubin and bovine serum albumin have been re-investigated at 20 degrees C. The results of previous authors concerning both human and bovine serum albumin were largely confirmed, namely the existence of two first-order configurational changes after a primary complex is formed in a fast, bimolecular step. From the kinetic behaviour it is concluded that this primary complex is present in non-negligible concentration after equilibrium is reached, and that it exchanges bilirubin with the surroundings with a rate constant of at least 23 s-1. This also means that the secondary complex, and, possible, also the final product, are in dynamic equilibrium with each other and with the primary complex, and, therefore, only the sum of their formation and dissociation rate constants can be measured. The dependence of the two observable relaxation times on pH does not parallel the N leads to B transition. On the other hand, a pH jump between 7.4 and 9.0 is assumed to monitor the N leads to B transition, both the free albumin and the complex in its various forms undergoing this transition at identical rates. This transition, although influencing the absorptivity of the complex, was found not to influence the strength of the binding site.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Properties and specificity of binding sites for the immunomodulator bestatin on the surface of mammalian cells.

The binding of the immunomodulator bestatin, an inhibitor of cell surface bound leucine aminopeptidase and aminopeptidase B, to mammalian cells of varying origin has been studied. The specific binding of [3H] bestatin was a rapid and saturable process exhibiting one affinity, characterized by an association constant of 0.8 x 10(5) M-1, as determined in the L5178y mouse lymphoma system. Optimal binding was observed at 37 degrees C. L-leucine and L-leucine-beta-naphthylamide prevented the binding, suggesting that the complex was formed between leucine aminopeptidase and bestatin. The protein nature of the bestatin-"receptor" was suggested by its susceptibility to trypsin. Under the conditions used here intracellular translocation of bestatin appeared to be negligible. A maximum of about 2.2 x 10(6) bestatin molecules could bind to L5178y mouse lymphoma cells. Under identical conditions by far the highest amount of bestatin was bound to macrophages from mice. Lower levels were measured with T-lymphocytes; very low binding capacity was observed with B-lymphocytes. Experiments with synchronized L5178y cells revealed a cell cycle dependent change of binding capacity for bestatin; the highest level was observed during the transition from S-to G2 phase and the lowest during G1- and early S phase. These data lend further support to the assumption that the immuno-potentiating activity of bestatin is due to a stimulation of T-lymphocyte proliferation probably mediated through the activation of macrophages.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMed1982

Early changes in growth control of cells in culture induced by a chemical carcinogen.

The effects of the chemical carcinogen N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) on 'early events' in cellular response to growth stimulation were studied in quiescent (confluent and serum-starved) baby hamster kidney C13 and secondary mouse embryo cell cultures. After a short (one hour) exposure to MNNG (0.015 micrograms/ml), we observed an increase (up to 31%) in basal uridine uptake rates and a significant decrease in the stimulatory effect of serum on the uridine uptake capacity of the quiescent cells. These effects of MNNG are reminiscent of the permanent changes in growth regulation-related properties which accompany cell transformation. The results of this study suggest that MNNG interacts with a cellular target(s) which controls the rate of uridine uptake and other growth-related responses to serum factors. The effects of MNNG on cell responsiveness to growth regulators do not require active DNA synthesis and are observed long before transformation is evident, suggesting that non-DNA targets may be involved in the process of initiation of chemical carcinogenesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

The role of bestatin, an inhibitor of cell surface proteases, in the interaction of serum with untransformed cells in culture.

Bestatin is an inhibitor of cell surface-associated aminopeptidase B and leucine aminopeptidase. This microbial product simulates the role of serum as an activator of uridine uptake in quiescent BHK cells. The compound significantly stimulates the incorporation of labelled thymidine into the acid-insoluble fraction of serum-starved Nil 8 cells in the presence of low concentration of serum. The possible mechanisms of these interactions are discussed.

Aminopeptidases↗
PubMed1980

S-substituted derivatives of 6-mercaptopurine ribosides interact both with the transport and metabolic phosphorylation of uridine by virus-transformed hamster fibroblasts.

The uptake of uridine by mammalian cells consists of transport of uridine across the plasma membrane followed by its metabolic conversion, mainly by phosphorylation. S-substituted aromatic derivatives of 6-mercaptopurine ribosides are potent inhibitors of the nucleoside uptake systems in human erythrocytes and in mammalian cells in culture and have been studied extensively. We present here a theoretical analysis which enables one to decide whether transport of metabolites, their metabolic trapping within the cell, or both, are susceptible to inhibition. This analysis was applied in the study of the effect of some inhibitors on uridine and cytosine-beta-D-arabinoside uptake by transformed Nil-8 cells. It was found that in Nil-SV cells, both transport and metabolic conversion are susceptible to inhibition by nitrobenzylmercaptoinosine and by dansylaminoethylmercaptoguanosine. Nitrobenzylmercaptoinosine displays inhibition constants of 20 and 7 nM for transport and phosphorylation, respectively, while for dansylaminoethylmercaptoguanosine the inhibition constants are 1.8 and 0.6 microM, respectively, for the same processes. Cytosine-beta-D-arabinoside is a synthetic nucleoside which is not metabolizable in Nil cells. Its uptake properties are determined by the transport mechanism alone. The transport of this nucleoside into Nil-SV cells in inhibited by nitrobenzylmercaptoinosine and the inhibition constant found is approx. 5 times greater than that for uridine.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

A kinetic analysis of the uptake of cytosine-beta-D-arabinoside by rat-B77 cells. Differentiation between transport and phosphorylation.

We present here a differentiation by kinetic methods of the tandem processes of transport and metabolic during uptake of cytosine-beta-D-arabinoside by intact rat fibroblasts. Transport across the cell membrane occurs by a carrier-mediated mechanism displaying a Km of approximately 500 microM and a V of approximately pmol x min-1 x (10(6) cells)-1. The subsequent metabolic trapping (phosphorylation) has a Km of approximately 15 microM and V of approximately 0.25 pmol x min-1 x (10(6) cells)-1. In this system, transport is rate-limiting for the first phase of the uptake process whereas phosphorylation becomes rate-limiting when internal concentration of radioactive labeled substrate exceeds that in the extracellular medium. The duration of the first phase depends on the substrate concentration.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

The kinetic dissection of transport from metabolic trapping during substrate uptake by intact cells. Uridine uptake by quiescent and serum-activated Nil 8 hamster cells and their murine sarcoma virus-transformed counterparts.

1. We present a theoretical analysis of the tandem processes of transport and metabolic trapping which together constitute uptake of a substrate by intact cells. 2. Transport is assumed to occur by means of a simple carrier here analysed in its general form. Trapping is assumed to occur by a simple enzymic reaction. 3. We show how to obtain the separate parameters of the steps by analysing uptake data over a range of uptake times and substrate concentrations. 4. We present uptake data for uridine and cytosine-beta-D-arabinoside entering Nil 8 hamster fibroblasts, normal and murine sarcoma virus transformed, in the quiescent condition and after stimulation by added serum. We analyse the data in terms of the theory for tandem processes. 5. Transport is characterised by a system having a high Km and a high V for entry. The data for cytosine-beta-D-arabinoside suggest that the cytosine-beta-D-arabinoside system is not far from a symmetric one. The data for uridine transport do not differ when quiescent and serum-activated cells are compared. Transformed cells transport uridine at half the maximum velocity of normal cells, with or without added serum. 6. Trapping of cytosine-beta-D-arabinoside is insignificant. Trapping of uridine occurs by a system with both V and Km at least an order of magnitude smaller than are these parameters for transport. Trapping of uridine by non-transformed cells activated by serum, has twice the V of such cells in the quiescent state. 7. In the virus-transformed cells, the control of uridine trapping by added serum is lost, along with control of growth by this stimulant.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

S-(N-dansylaminoethyl)-6-mercaptoguanosine as a fluorescent probe for the uridine transport system in human erythrocytes.

A fluorescent derivative of 6-mercaptoguanosine, S-(N-dansylaminoethyl)-6-mercaptoguanosine, was synthesized, and found to be a strong inhibitor of the uridine transport system of erythrocyte (Ki approximately 0.3 microM). The emission spectrum of this compound has peaks at 400 and 550 nm. The emission at 550, but not that a 400 nm, in environment-sensitive. A method was devised for preparing a suspension of erythrocyte-membrane fragments with sufficiently low light scattering so that a detailed study could be made of the fluorescence of the probe when bound to membranes. Direct binding measurements showed the existence of a tight binding site, with a dissociation constant of the same order of magnitude as the inhibition constant. Binding of probe and substrate are not mutually exclusive, but the fluorescence and affinity of the bound probe are sensitive to the presence of uridine. The emission spectrum suggests that the bound probe penetrates into the bilayer region of the membrane.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed1977

Magnetic resonance and kinetic studies of the role of the divalent cation activator of RNA polymerase from Escherichia coli.

The interaction of Mn2+, substrates and initiators with RNA polymerase have been studied by kinetic and magnetic resonance methods. As determined by electron paramagnetic resonance, Mn2+ binds to RNA polymerase at one tight binding site with a dissociation constant less than 10 muM and at 6 +/- 1 weak binding sites with dissociation constants 100-fold greater. The binding of Mn2+ to RNA polymerase at both types of sites causes an order of magnitude enhancement of the paramagnetic effect of Mn2+ on the longitudinal relaxation rate of water protons, indicating the presence of residual water ligands on the enzyme-bound Mn2+. A kinetic analysis of the Mn2+-activated enzyme with poly(dT) as template indicates the substrate to be MnATP under steady-state conditions in the presence or absence of the initiator ApA. ATP and UTP interact with the tightly bound Mn2+ to form ternary complexes with approximately 50% greater enhancement factors. The dissociation constant of MnATP from the tight Mn2+ site as determined by longitudinal proton relaxation rate (PRR) titration (4.7 muM) is similar to the KM of MnATP in the ApA-initiated RNA polymerase reaction (10 +/- 3 muM) but not in the ATP-initiated reaction (160 +/- 30 muM). Similarly, the dissociation constant of the substrate MnUTP from the tight Mn2+ site (90 muM) is in agreement with the KM of MnUTP (101 +/- 13 muM) when poly[d(A-T)]-poly[d(A-T)] is used as template, indicating the tight Mn2+ site to be the catalytic site for RNA chain elongation. Manganese adenylyl imidodiphosphate (MnAMP-PNP) has been found to be a substrate for RNA polymerase. It has the same affinity as MnATP for the tight site but, unlike the results obtained with MnATP, the enhancement is decreased by 43% in the enzyme Mn-AMP-PNP complex. These results suggest that the enzyme-bound Mn2+ interacts with the leaving pyrophosphate group. The initiators ApA and ApU and the inhibitor rifamycin interact with the enzyme-Mn2+ complex producing small (15-20%) decreases in the enhancement. The dissociation constant of ApA estimated from PRR data (less than or equal to 1.5 muM) agrees with that determined kinetically (1.0 +/- 0.5 muM) as the concentration of ApA required to produce half-maximal change in the KM of MnATP. In the presence of the initiation specific reagents ApA, ApU, or rifamycin, the affinity of the enzyme-Mn complex for ATP or UTP shows little change. However, ATP and UTP no longer increase the enhancement factor of the tightly bound Mn2+ but decrease it by 30-55%, indicating a change in the environment of the Mn2+-substrate complex on the enzyme when the initiation site is either occupied or blocked. Although the role of the six weak Mn2+ binding sites is not clear, the presence of a single tightly bound Mn2+ at the catalytic site for chain elongation which interacts with the substrate reinforces the number of active sites as one per molecule of holoenzyme and provides a paramagnetic reference point for further structural studies.

Adenine Nucleotides↗
PubMed1976

A kinetic study of protein-protein interactions.

Kinetic studies have been carried out of the monomer-dimer interaction of insulin, beta-lactoglobulin, and alpha-chymotrypsin using stopped-flow and temperature-jump techniques. The pH indicators bromothymol blue, bromophenol blue, and phenol red were used to monitor pH changes associated with the monomer-dimer interaction. In all three cases a kinetic process was observed which could be attributed to a simple monomer-dimer equilibrium, and association (k1) and dissociation (k-1) rate constants were determined. The results obtained are as follows: for insulin at 23 degrees C, pH 6.8, 0.125 M KNO3, k1 = 1.14 X 10(8) M-1 s-1, k-1 - 1.48 X 10(4)s(-1); for beta-lactoglobulin AB at 35 degrees C, pH 3.7, 0.025 M KNO3, d1 = 4.7 X 10(4) M-1 s-1, k-1 = 2.1 s-1; for alpha-chymotrypsin at 25 degreesC, pH 4.3, 0.05 M KNO3 k1 - 3.7 X 10(3) M-1 s-1, k-1 - 0.68 s-1. The kinetic behavior of the separated beta-lactoglobulin A and B was similar to that of the mixture. In the case of chymotrypsin, bromophenol blue was found to activate the enzyme catalyzed hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl acetate, and a rate process was observed with the temperature jump which could be attributed to a conformational change of the indicator-protein complex. The association rate constant for dimer formation of insulin approaches the value expected for a diffusion-controlled process, while the values obtained for the other two proteins are below those expected for a diffusion-controlled reaction unless unusally large steric and electrostatic effects are present.

Binding Sites↗