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Biomedical subjects

T Asakura

Publications and source records attributed to T Asakura.

At least 451 records · Page 25Linked to original sources
PubMed1977

Stability of glycolytic enzymes of human erythrocytes.

The stability of various glycolytic enzymes of human erythrocytes has been studied by the mechanical shaking method. The rate of denaturation apparently followed first order kinetics. The t1/2, the shaking time required to denature 50% of the original activity, for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphofructokinase, and pyruvate kinase was less than 1 min; that for hexokinase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, and monophosphoglyceromutase was between 2 and 13 min; that for all the other enzymes was more than 30 min. Since the t1/2 value for each enzyme is highly reproducible if the shaking conditions are kept constant, these parameters may be used as an indicator of protein stability in solution. The mechanical denaturation method may also be used to remove unstable components from a mixture of proteins with different stabilities.

Drug Stability↗
PubMed1977

A monomeric form of pyruvate kinase in human pyruvate kinase deficiency.

A mutant pyruvate kinase (ATP:pyruvate 2-O-phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.40) from human erythrocytes which is easily separated into monomers and dimers by gel chromatography is described. Tht mutant enzyme shows almost the same pH optimum and thermostability as normal enzyme, but has a decreased stability on shaking with air, a decreased Km for phosphoenolpyruvate and a loss of allosteric properties. The apparent Km values for phosphoenolpyruvate of tetramers and monomers were the same. The tetrameric enzyme was slightly activated by fructose-1,6-diphosphate but the monomeric form was not. The tetrameric enzyme was found to dissociate spontaneously to dimeric and monomeric forms.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗
PubMed1977

Denatured hemoglobin in sickle erythrocytes.

To study the nature of numerous inclusion bodies seen in red cells from patients with sickle cell disease (Hb SS), we have prepared red cell ghosts free of oxyhemoglobin and analyzed them by spectrophotometric and heme extraction methods. The absorption spectrum in the visible region of the ghost suspensions was typical of hemichromes. The spectrum was similar to that of denatured hemoglobin repared by treatment of oxyhemoglobin S with mechanical shaking or heat. Similar treatment of cells containing only normal hemoglobin (Hb AA) showed a very small amount of denatured hemoglobin, approximately one-fifth of the amount in Hb SS cells. The amount of denatured hemoglobin determined after solution of membrane with 2.5% sodium dodecyl sulfate was 0.158+/-0.070% (1 SD) of the total cellular heme in Hb SS patients. In controls, the amount was 0.030+/-0.016%. Persons with Hb AA and reticulocytosis did not have an elevated amount of membrane-associated heme. In patients with hereditary spherocytosis and autoimmune hemolytic anemia, denatured stromal hemoglobin was normal or slightly elevated before and after splenectomy. The increased amount of denatured hemoglobin in Hb SS red cells may be related to the instability of sickle oxyhemoglobin.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

[Surgical treatment of the thoracic arterio-venous malformation with intraspinal and extraspinal niduses (author's transl)].

Recent advances in the technique of selective spinal angiography and microsurgery have provided us remarkable progress in diagnosis and treatment of spinal arteriovenous malformation. Although in some cases total extirpation is still difficult, various attempts have been performed for complete cure. In this paper, the authors reported a case of 6-year-old girl who complained of the progressive gait disturbance. In this case we found the thoracic AVM which had niduses not only in the intraspinal canal but also in the extraspinal space. Transthoracic ligature was performed in this case. That is, through a thoracotomy with rib resection on the right side, the enlarged anomalous feeding artery, i.e., intercostal artery with its branches, from which Adamkiewicz's artery should be derived was ligated and clipped. And the result was good. In Japan, we have never had a report of such surgical method for AVM. Besides such a case is very rare that the AVM had nidus extending to both intra- and extra-spinal canal space. So we discussed the treatment against such an AVM with the investigations of literatures. Further follow-up study for this case will be reported later. The paper was read by the authors at the 53rd Kyushu region meeting of Japan Neurological Society (February 28, 1976, Kagoshima).

Arteriovenous Malformations↗
PubMed1976

Denaturation of oxyhemoglobulin S by mechanical shaking.

The oxy form of sickle hemoglobin precipitates rapidly during mechanical shaking. The rate of precipitation depends on shaking conditions such as stroke amplitude, frequency, angle between the vial axis and the shaking motion, volume and viscosity of hemoglobin solution and temperature. The rate increases linearly with either stroke (S) or frequency (n) above a certain value (S = 5 mm or n = 10Hz). The rate constant was maximum when the angle 0 between the vial axis and the shaking direction was 30 degrees. The rate of precipitation of sickle oxyhemoglobin was faster at high temperatures and always about 10 times greater than that of normal hemoglobin. The activation energies of precipitation of hemoglobin S and A are 20.3 and 21.3 kcal/mol, respectively. The thermogram of hemoglobin was measured by a differential scanning calorimeter. The denaturation temperatures determined from the peak of denaturation curves were 83.5 degrees C for oxyhemoglobin S and 85 degrees C for oxyhemoglobin A. The precipitated hemoglobin after mechanical shaking did not show any denaturation peak indicating that the protein molecules are irreversibly denatured by shaking.

Chemical Precipitation↗
PubMed1976

Spin label studies on conformational changes of aphohemoglobin due to heme binding.

Human apohemoglobin (globin) was spin-labeled at the beta-93 sulfhydryl groups with 2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-3-aminopyrrolidine-I-oxyl. Spin-labeled globin exhibited an EPR spectra that is less immobilized than that of spin-labeled hemoglobin, indicating the conformational difference in the vicinity of the label between hemoglobin and globin. Spectrophotometric titration of spin-labeled globin with protohemin showed that 1 mol of globin (on the tetramer basis) combines with 4 mol of hemin, producing a holomethemoglobin spectrophotometrically indistinguishable from native methemoglobin. The EPR spectrum was also changed strikingly upon the addition of protohemin. This change, however, was not proportional to the amount of hemin added, but marked changes occurred after 3 to 4 mol of hemin were mixed with 1 mol of spin-labeled globin. The EPR spectrum of spin-labeled hemoglobin thus prepared was identical with that prepared by direct spin labeling to methemoglobin. These results suggest the preferential binding of hemin to alpha-globin chains in the course of heme binding by globin. This assumption was further confirmed by preparing spin-labeled semihemoglobin in which only one kind of chain contained hemin (alpha h betaO SL and alpha O beta h SL). The EPR spectrum of the alpha h beta O SL molecule showed a slightly immobilized EPR spectrum, similar to that of spin-labeled globin mixed with 50% of the stoichiometric amount of hemin. On the other hand, the alpha O beta h SL molecule showed a distinctly different EPR signal from that of globin half-saturated with hemin, and showed an intermediate spectrum between those of beta h SL and alpha h beta h SL. These results indicate that heme binding to globin chains brings about a major conformational change in the protein moiety and that chain-chain association plays a secondary role. We conclude that hemin binds preferentially to alpha-globin chains and that the conformation of globin changes rapidly to that of methemoglobin after all four hemes are attached to globin heme pockets.

Apoproteins↗
PubMed1976

Effects of formylation of vinyl side chains of heme on optical and ligand binding properties of horse heart ferric myoglobin.

Effects of substitution of vinyl groups of hemin with formyl groups on the optical and ligand binding properties of horse heart ferric myoglobin were investigated. The peak positions as well as the line shapes of the absorption spectra of the ferric derivatives of three kinds of formylmyoglobin, 2-vinyl-4-formyl-, 2-formyl-4-vinyl-, and 2,4-diformylmyoglobins depend on the number and the position of the formyl groups. Absorption maxima in the Soret region of the acid forms of these ferric formylmyoglobins in 0.1 M potassium phosphate buffer, pH 6.0, at 20 degrees were 415.2, 422, and 429 nm, respectively. The acid forms of these formylmyoglobins exhibit absorption spectra of the mixture of high- and low spin states at ambient temperature. Since proto-, deutero- and mesomyoglobins have a high spin state under the same condition, the increase of the low spin iron in these formylmyoglobins may be due to the strong electron withdrawal by the formyl groups toward the periphery of the porphyrin ring. The affinities of these ferric formylmyoglobins and protomyoglobin for N3-, F-, OCN-, and SCN- increased in the order of proto-, monoformyl-monovinyl-, 2,4-diformyl-myoglobin, which corresponds to the increasing order of electron-withdrawing power of the porphyrin side chains. The pKa values of the acid-alkaline transition decreased in the same order. Although the ferric forms of the two isomeric monoformyl-monovinylmyoglobins exhibited different optical spectra, the dissociation constants of the complexes of these isomers for various ligands were similar to each other. The pKa values of the acid-alkaline transition were also similar. These results indicate that affinities of ferric myoglobin for ligands, in contrast to those of the ferrous form for oxygen and carbon monoxide (Sono, M., and Asakura, T. (1975) J. Biol. Chem. 250, 5527-5232 and Sono, M., Smith, P.D., McCray, J.A., and Asakura, T. (1976) J. Biol. Chem 251, 1418-1426), are not affected by the position of modifications at the two vinyl groups, but are determinedby the number of the formyl groups and that two vinyl groups at position 2 and 4 are equivalent in the binding of various ligands by ferric myoglobin. The electron density of the ferric iron appears to be similar for the two isomeric monoformyl-monovinylmyoglobins.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Interaction of serum albumin with normal and sickle hemoglobins.

The stability of oxyhemoglobin S during mechanical shaking was enhanced by the addition of human serum albumin. The stabilizing effect was maximum when the concentration of serum albumin approached that of oxyhemoglobin, suggesting a molecular level interaction between them. The effects of serum albumin on oxyhemoglobin A were essentially similar to those on oxyhemoglobin S. Deoxy- and methemoglobins were also stabilized by serum albumin. The addition of human serum albumin to a solution containing sickle cell oxyhemoglobin slowly formed a compound which had an absorbance peak at 620 nm. After purification by Sephadex G-200 column chromatography, this compound was identified as methemalbumin. Comparison of the rates of formation of methemalbumin from hemoglobin with various ligand states and human serum albumin showed that the rate of formation from hemichrome was much faster than from met-, oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin. About 60% of the heme was transferred from hemichrome to albumin when the mixture was kept standing at room temperature for 5 min, in contrast to only 5% from methemoglobin. This result suggests that hemichrome, rather than methemoglobin, is the intermediate in the formation of methemalbumin from oxyhemoglobin and human serum albumin. This hypothesis is supported by the finding that the rate of formation of methemalbumin was faster at alkaline pH values than at acid pH values. Serum albumin from various animal sources showed different stabilizing effects. The formation of methemalbumin from these animal albumins was far less than that from human albumin.

Apoproteins↗