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Biomedical subjects

W Weyler

Publications and source records attributed to W Weyler.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Purification and properties of mitochondrial monoamine oxidase type A from human placenta.

A high yield purification scheme for monoamine oxidase A from human placental mitochondria is described. The enzyme is solubilized by a combination of treatment with phospholipase A and C and extraction with Triton X-100 and further purified by partitioning between dextran and polyethylene glycol polymers. The enzyme was obtained in 35% yield and high purity on DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B chromatography. This product, 90% catalytically active, showed a single major and several minor bands on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Further purification could be achieved by additional chromatography using Bio-Gel HTP, but concomitant loss of catalytic activity occurred (enzyme remained about 60% active). The difference extinction coefficient for flavinox--flavinred at 456 nm was 10,800 +/- 350 m-1 cm-1. A sulfhydryl to flavin ratio of 7.5 was obtained when enzyme was denatured with sodium dodecyl sulfate, reduced with 2-mercaptoethanol, and titrated with 2,2'-dipyridyl disulfide. Anaerobic titration with 0.5 eq of sodium dithionite gave rise to the red anionic flavin radical, and full reduction was observed on further addition of reagent. The Km value for kynuramine was essentially the same for mitochondria (0.12 mM) and enzyme after DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B chromatography (0.17 mM). The concentration of clorgyline and deprenyl required for 50% inactivation also remained essentially unchanged. Incubation of the enzyme with 2,2'-dipyridyl disulfide caused inactivation in a biphasic manner with apparent second-order rate constants of 1230 M-1 min-1 and 235 M-1 min-1 for the rapid and slow phase, respectively. This inactivation was largely abolished by the inclusion of the competitive inhibitor amphetamine (Ki = 20 microM) in the incubation mixture. Analysis by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis indicated a subunit molecular mass of 60-64 kDa, about 1.5-2.5 kDa higher than human liver monoamine oxidase B.

2,2'-Dipyridyl↗

Immunological uniqueness of human monoamine oxidases A and B: new evidence from studies with monoclonal antibodies to human monoamine oxidase A.

Monoamine oxidase (EC 1.4.3.4; MAO) is the primary enzyme responsible for the intraneuronal degradation of biogenic amines in the central nervous system. An understanding of the physiological significance of the functional and regulatory differences between the two forms of the enzyme, MAOs A and B, would be facilitated by the availability of antibodies specific for the two forms of the enzyme. We previously isolated and characterized a monoclonal antibody (MAO B-1C2, previously designated MAO-1C2) which binds human MAO B but not A. We describe here four new monoclonal antibodies (designated MAO A-3C9, A-4F10, A-7B10, and A-7E10) which were elicited to highly purified MAO A from human placenta and which, in the presence of antimouse IgG and Staphylococcus aureus, immunoprecipitate greater than 90% of the catalytically active purified MAO A. MAO A-3C9 appears to have a lower affinity for purified MAO A than the other three antibodies and does not immunoprecipitate either MAO A or MAO B from human platelets or from Triton X-100 extracts of human placental and liver mitochondria. MAO A-4F10, A-7B10, and A-7E10 immunoprecipitate catalytically active MAO A from Triton X-100 extracts of human placental and liver mitochondria, but not catalytically active MAO B from either pletelets or from Triton X-100 extracts of human liver mitochondria. Collectively, these anti-MAO monoclonal antibodies reveal unique epitopes on human MAO A not shared by MAO B, and at least one epitope on MAO B not shared by MAO A. These immunochemical differences support the hypothesis that MAO A and MAO B are different proteins, presumably isozymes.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

Specificity of antisera prepared against pure bovine MAO-B.

Antisera have been prepared against purified bovine MAO-B that appear to react selectively with MAO-B and not MAO-A, Rabbit and mouse antisera indirectly immune precipitated [125I]bovine MAO-B using inactivated Staphylococcus aureus cells, and binding of antibodies to bovine and rat MAO-B did not inhibit enzyme activity. Two continuous rat cell lines, hepatoma line MH1C1 and glioma line C6, were used to elucidate the specificity of the antisera. MH1C1 cells, which express both MAO-A and MAO-B, showed immune-specific staining with rabbit antiserum, and staining was blocked with pure MAO-B. Further, MAO-B activity and [3H]pargyline-labeled MAO molecules could be immune precipitated from solubilized mitochondrial preparations of MH1C1 cells; and immune fixation of mitochondrial proteins following SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) revealed staining of the MAO-B, but not of the MAO-A, flavin-containing subunit. In contrast, no immune-specific immunocytochemical staining was observed in C6 cells, which have only MAO-A activity; no MAO-A activity or [3H]pargyline-labeled MAO could be immune precipitated from solubilized mitochondrial preparations of these cells, and no stained bands were observed for mitochondrial proteins resolved by SDS-PAGE and processed for immune fixation. Further support for the selectivity of this antiserum for MAO-B comes from immunocytochemical staining of rat tissues which express varying amounts of MAO-A and MAO-B activities. Hypothalamus and liver, with high levels of MAO-A and MAO-B activities showed a large number of immunoreactive cells, whereas spleen, heart and superior cervical ganglia, with high MAO-A and low MAO-B activities showed only a few or no stained cells. Catecholamine neurons in the substantia nigra, thought to contain MAO-A, did not show immune-specific staining. Skeletal muscle cells with low MAO-A and MAO-B activities did not stain. These studies provide additional evidence that MAO-A and MAO-B are distinct molecules, differentially expressed in different cell types.

Animals↗

Prenatal diagnosis of propionic acidemia.

Prenatal diagnosis of a fetus with propionic acidemia has been accomplished by the detection of methylcitrate, a unique metabolite, in the amniotic fluid by liquid partition chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The diagnosis was confirmed by demonstration of deficient activity of propionyl-CoA carboxylase in cells cultured from the amniotic fluid and in fetal tissues. In two subsequent pregnancies, methylcitrate was not present in amniotic fluid. Enzyme assay indicated that one fetus was heterozygous and the other was normal, and healthy infants were born at term. The analysis of organic acids in amniotic fluid permits very rapid prenatal diagnosis, usually within 48 hours after obtaining the fluid. It may provide a general method in conditions in which an unusual metabolite can be identified.

Abortion, Therapeutic↗

Abnormal metabolites of isoleucine in a patient with propionyl-CoA carboxylase deficiency.

A number of previously unrecognized abnormal metabolites have been identified and quantitated in the urine of a patient with an inherited deficiency of propionyl-CoA carboxylase. These included the isoleucine metabolites 2-methyl-3-hydroxybutyric acid and 2-methylacetoacetic acid. These isomers 3-hydroxyvaleric acid and 3-oxovaleric acid were found, which may be products of the condensation of propionyl-CoA with acetyl-CoA catalyzed by 3-oxoacyl-CoA thiolases. Following a load of isoleucine, 2-methylbutyrylglycine was identified. This metabolite has not previously been observed in man.

Acetoacetates↗

Deficiency of propionyl-Co A carboxylase and methylcrotonyl-Co A carboxylase in a patient with methylcrotonylglycinuria.

The enzymes 3-methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase and propionyl-CoA carboxylase were studied in fibroblasts derived from a patient with 3-methylcrotonylglycinuria and from control individuals. There was a parallel defect in the activities of both enzymes in extracts of the cells of the patient. Supplementation with biotin of the medium in which the cells were grown restored the activity of both carboxylases to the normal range. Kinetic analysis of the activities of the carboxylases obtained from cells grown in biotin revealed KM values for each enzyme that approximated normal. These data indicate that the primary defect in this patient is in the enzyme holocarboxylase synthetase which is responsible for activating biotin and transferring it to the apocarboxylase proteins.

Amino Acid Metabolism, Inborn Errors↗

Synthesis and biological inactivity of some 4alpha,6-cyclo steroids.

Two different synthetic routes have been used to synthesize a series of cyclopropyl conjugated ketones in which 4alpha,6-unsaturation replaces the usual 4,5-unsaturation. The synthetic routes involve intramolecular ketocarbene addition to a 5-6 double bond and intramolecular 1,3-elimination of 6beta-substituted 5beta-3-keto steroids. Both routes give 5beta products. The analogs of progesterone, testoterone acetate, and norethisterone have been prepared and shown to be remarkably biologically inactive when compared with the corresponding standard. Possible reasons for such inactivity are discussed.

Androgens↗