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Y Gao

Publications and source records attributed to Y Gao.

593 records · Page 33Linked to original sources

The substrate specificity, tissue specificity and regulation of the 5' deiodination systems in rat liver and kidney tissues.

Studies were carried out to compare the 5' deiodination reactions of thyroxine (T4) and 3, 3', 5'-triiodothyronine (rT3) in rat liver and kidney homogenates. The 5'-deiodinase activity was assayed by the 3, 5, 3'-triiodothyronine (T3) produced from T4 or by the 125I-iodide released from 125I-rT3. The two 5' deiodination reactions had similar ranges of optimal pH, incubation temperature, and apparent Km, T4 1.1 and rT3 1.3 microM. However, the apparent Vmax values for T4 and rT3 deiodination reactions were 0.9 and 220 pmol/mg protein/min, respectively. Both reactions were stimulated by thiol reagent but only rT3 deiodination showed complete thiol dependence. The inhibitory effect of 6-propyl-2-thiouracil (PTU) on the 5' deiodination of rT3 was 50 times as great as that of T4. Only the 5' deiodination of rT3 was inhibited by low concentrations of calcium and magnesium. The 5' deiodination reactions in the liver and kidney tissues showed very similar substrate specificity. However, only the hepatic deiodinase activity was reduced to 60-65% of the control value after fasting, whereas the renal 5'-deiodinase activity was unaffected or even enhanced by fasting up to 72 hours. The results showed the existence of a diverse and complex 5' deiodination system in the rat tissues which is comprised of multiple similar but distinct 5'-deiodinase enzymes with respect to their substrate specificity, tissue specificity and regulation.

Animals↗

The I-antigens of Ichthyophthirius multifiliis are GPI-anchored proteins.

The parasitic ciliate Ichthyophthirius multifiliis has abundant surface membrane proteins (i-antigens) that when clustered, trigger rapid, premature exit from the host. Similar antigens are present in free-living ciliates and are GPI-anchored in both Paramecium and Tetrahymena. Although transmembrane signalling through GPI-anchored proteins has been well-documented in metazoan cells, comparable phenomena have yet to be described in protists. Since premature exit of Ichthyophthirius is likely to involve a transmembrane signalling event, we sought to determine whether i-antigens are GPI-anchored in these cells as well. Based on their solubility properties in Triton X-114, the i-antigens of Ichthyophthirius are amphiphilic in nature and partition with the detergent phase. Nevertheless, following treatment of detergent lysates with phospholipase C, the same proteins become hydrophilic. Concomitantly, they are recognized by antibodies against a cross-reacting determinant exposed on virtually all GPI-anchored proteins following cleavage with phospholipase C. Finally, when expressed in recombinant form in Tetrahymena thermophila, full-length i-antigens are restricted to the membrane, while those lacking hydrophobic C-termini are secreted from the cell. Taken together, these observations argue strongly that the i-antigens of Ichthyophthirius multifiliis are, in fact, GPI-anchored proteins.

Amino Acid Sequence↗