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Effects of pregnancy on the contents of water, taurine, and total amino nitrogen in rat cerebral cortex.

Plasma osmolality and the levels of water, taurine, and total amino nitrogen (detected as ninhydrin-positive substances) have been measured in the cerebral cortices of nonpregnant and 19-day pregnant Wistar rats. Plasma osmolality fell by 11 mosmol/kg during pregnancy. Brain water content remained unaltered, but levels of taurine and ninhydrin-positive substances fell by 48.5 and 21.9%, respectively. It is suggested that one way in which brain cells are prevented from swelling during the mild hypoosmolality of pregnancy is through loss of cellular amino nitrogen, particularly taurine.

Animals↗

The acetylation of hemoglobin by aspirin. In vitro and in vivo.

The chemical modification of hemoglobin by aspirin (ASA) has been studied, both in intact human red cells and in purified hemoglobin solutions. After incubation of red cells with 20 mM [acetyl-1minus14C]ASA, incorporation of radioactivity into hemoglobin was observed in agreement with the results of Klotz and Tam (1973. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 70: 1313-1315). In contrast, no labeling of hemoglobin was seen when [carbosyl-14-C]ASA was used. These results indicate that ASA acetylates hemoglobin. The acetylated hemoglobin was readily separated from unmodified hemoglobin by both gel electrofocusing and by column chromatography. Quantitation of the extent of acetylation by densitometric scanning of gels agreed very well with estimates obtained from radioactivity measurements. Hemolysates prepared from red cells incubated with ASA showed normal oxygen affinity and heme-heme interaction. Purified acetylated hemoglobin had a slightly increased oxygen affinity and decreased heme-heme interaction. There was no difference in the rate of acetylation of oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin. ASA acetylated column-purified hemoglobin A more readily than hemoglobin in crude hemolysate, but less rapidly than purified human serum albumin. The rate of acetylation of hemoglobulin increased with pH up to approximately pH 8,5. Structural studies were done on hemoglobin incubated with 2.0 mM and 20 mM [acetyl-1-14-C]ASA. Alpha- and beta-chains were acetylated almost equally. Tryptic digests of purified acetylated subunits were fingerprinted on cellulose thin layer plates and autoradiographed. Both alpha- and beta-chains showed a number of radioactive spots that were either ninhydrin negative or weakly ninhydrin positive. These results indicate that hemoglobin is acetylated at a number of sites, probably at the epislon-amino group of lysine residues. To determine whether ASA acetylates hemoglobin in vivo, hemolysates of 14 patients on long-term high-dose ASA therapy were analyzed by gel electrofocusing and compared to specimens of individuals not receiving ASA. The ASA-treated group had a twofold increase in a minor hemoglobin component having an isoelectric point lower than that of hemoglobin A, and indistinguishable from the minoe component which appears when hemoglobin is incubated with ASA in vitro.

Acetylation↗

The determination of small amounts of collagen hydroxylysyl glycosides.

Glucosylgalactosylhydroxylysine (GlcGalHyl) and galactosylhydroxylysine (GalHyl) in alkaline hydrolysates of insoluble collagens were separated on 130 x 0.6 cm and 45 x 0.6 cm columns of Chromobeads A resin (Technicon) and simultaneous analyses with ninhydrin and orcinol-H2SO4 were performed. Ninhydrin, which is the standard reagent in existing methods, gave erroneously high results with both columns due to overlapping, resistant peptides. A rapid and more accurate procedure employing the smaller column, the orcinol-H2SO4 reagent and a new internal standard was developed. The losses of the glycosides in alkaline hydrolysis, especially in the presence of collagen peptides, were much larger than had been reported previously. A shorter alkaline hydrolysis following digestion of the collagen with papain was effective and allowed more reliable corrections to be made. Purging with nitrogen reduced the losses further. Mature bovine skin collagen contained less GlcGalHyl than embryonic skin collagen whereas the differences in GalHyl were insignificant.

Animals↗

A technique to recover tracer as carboxyl-carbon and alpha-nitrogen from amino acids in soil hydrolysates.

Isotope analysis of biochemical compounds provides an unequivocal means for detecting assimilation of tracer C and N into microbial biomass. A diffusion method recently developed to determine amino acid-N by ninhydrin oxidation of soil hydrolysates was modified to permit simultaneous collection of the CO2 liberated during this oxidation. In the technique described herein, this is accomplished after removal of (NH4+ + amino sugar)-N, by performing ninhydrin oxidation at 90 degrees C for 7 h in a 1.9 L Mason jar sealed with a lid equipped to support a petri dish containing 5 mL 0.2N NaOH. Recoveries of carboxyl-C and alpha-N ranged from 98 to 101% in evaluations with standard solutions of amino acids, whereas these recoveries exceeded 90% for 14C and 94% for 15N when soil hydrolysates amended with labeled amino acids were analyzed.

Alanine↗

Bacereutin, an antifungal antibiotic isolated from metabolites of Bacillus cereus CHU 130.

An antifungal metabolite, bacereutin, was isolated from culture filtrate of Bacillus cereus CHU 130. The bacterium was isolated from soils collected in Changhwa County, Taiwan, and was grown in soybean meal-mannitol broth for production of the antibiotic metabolite. The antibiotic metabolite was isolated by adsorption column chromatography of Amberite XAD-2 and was purified by passing through the chromatographic columns packed with Dowex 50W-X8, Sephadex LH 20 and Biogel P-2. The antibiotic metabolite was soluble in water and 87% acetone, and was slightly soluble in methanol, but was not dissolved in n-propanol, n-butanol, acetone, benzene and ethyl acetate. The antibiotic metabolite was a heat-stable and ninhydrin-positive substance. The antibiotic activities of bacereutin were tested by means of the agar-diffusion plate method. The antibiotic metabolite inhibited the growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae CHU 1, Paecilomyces variotii CHU 6, Rhizomucor miehei CHU 40 and Fusarium oxysportum CHU 98. Bacereutin was a ninhydrin-positive antifungal antibiotic.

Acetone↗

[Determination of 3,4-dioxyphenyl-L-alanine by spectrophotometric and chromatographic methods in enzymatic synthesis using microbial cells].

A possibility of using the ninhydrin reaction for 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl-L-alanine (DOPA) determining during the synthesis from pyrocatechol and ammonium pyruvate was verified by using free and immobilized cells of Citrobacter freundii, st. 62. Spectrophotometric assay was performed at the adsorption maximum for the DOPA-ninhydrin complex at 390 nm. DOPA can be reliably quantified in the presence of all components at 20-fold and greater dilution of the reaction mixture. A high-sensitive quantitative assay of the reaction mixture was developed based on phase-reversed HPLC. A quantitative correlation was observed between spectrophotometric and chromatographic assays. The assays were employed to study in detail the initial period and equilibrium of DOPA synthesis and its characteristic features, which made it possible to construct a kinetic model of the process.

Catechols↗

New colorimetric method for folic acid assay in dosage forms.

A new colorimetric method has been developed for estimating folic acid. The British Pharmacopoeial method has been modified to reduce folic acid to 2,4,5-triamino-6-hydroxy-pyrimidine (TAHP), which is treated with ninhydrin to yield a stable purple complex. Participation of 5-amino and 6-hydroxy groups of TAHP in the color reaction with ninhydrin is suggested on the basis of experimental evidence. The color obtained has an absorbance maximum at 555 nm and obeys Beer's law in the concentration range of 4.5 to 45 microng folic acid/ml. The method has been successfully used for assaying folic acid, its tablets, and injections.

Colorimetry↗

Cystathionine in rat brain: catabolism in vivo.

The content of cystathionine was measured in 35 rat brains; the range was 10-120 nmol/g wet weight and thus the variability of cystathionine content in rat brain was emphasized. The regional distribution of cystathionine was also determined: the highest level was found in cerebellum; the lowest level was observed in the white and gray matter of the hemispheres. These results are different from those obtained in other species. The radioactive metabolites formed from L-(35S)cystathionine injected intracisternally were measured in brains of rats killed at the following times after injection: 0.25, 1, 2, 4,6, 9, 16, and 27 hr. The radioactivity was found both in the proteins and in the acid-soluble fraction. In the acid-soluble fraction the radioactivity was found in various ninhydrin-reacting compounds: [cysteic cysteine sulfinic] acid, taurine, reduced and oxidized glutathione, cystine, cystathionine, and a compound tentatively identified as the mixed disulfide of cysteine and glutathione. The radioactivity of cystathionine decreased exponentially between the 1st and the 27th hour after injection and its half-life was estimated to be about 5 hr. The radioactivity in the other ninhydrin-reacting compounds increased until the 9th hour after injection, then decreased. Half of this radioactivity was present in reduced glutathione, the rest being shared equally between: [cysteic cysteine sulfinic] acid, taurine, and the mixed disulfide. It is worthwhile to note that the radioactivity in the cystine fraction was always very low.

Animals↗

Determination of the thiol redox state of organisms: new oxidative stress indicators.

This study describes a new methodology by which the concentrations of non-protein (NP) thiols glutathione (GSH), cysteine (CSH), N-acetylcysteine (AcCSH), and protein (P) thiols (PSH), as well as the contribution of these components to symmetric and mixed disulfides (NPSSR, NPSSC, NPSSCAc, PSSR, PSSC, PSSCAc, PSSP) can reliably be measured. The methodology consists of a strict sequence of methods which are applied to every sample. Free thiols at any given state of the procedure are measured by Ellman's assay, the CSH fraction is measured by its unique response in the ninhydrin assay, AcCSH is selectively measured with ninhydrin after enzymatic deacylation, proteins are separated from non-protein thiols/disulfides by precipitation with trichloroacetic or perchloric acid, disulfides are reduced into free thiols with borohydride, mixed disulfides between a protein and a non-protein component are measured by extracting the non-protein thiol from the protein pellet after borohydride treatment, and protein thiols/disulfides are measured after resolubilization of the protein pellet. When this method was applied to animal and fungal tissue, new molecular indicators of the thiol redox state of living cells were identified. The findings of the present study clearly show that the new parameters are very sensitive indicators of redox state, while at the same time the traditional parameters GSH and GSSG often remain constant even upon dramatic changes in the overall redox state of biological tissue. Therefore, unbiased assessment of the redox state also requires explicit measurement of its most sensitive thiol indicators.

Animals↗

Reaction of S-(2-amino-2-carboxyethylsulfonyl)-L-cysteine with thiosulfate: synthesis of L-alanine sulfodisulfane and application to the determination of thiosulfate.

A new reaction of S-(2-amino-2-carboxyethylsulfonyl)-L-cysteine (ACESC) with thiosulfate is described. The reaction proceeded quantitatively in formic or acetic acid solutions, yielding equimolar amounts of L-alanine sulfodisulfane (2-amino-2-carboxyethyl sulfodisulfane) and L-alanine 3-sulfinic acid. L-Alanine sulfodisulfane was obtained as pure monosodium salt; the yield was 92% of the theoretical. A new method is described for the determination of thiosulfate. The method is based on the quantitative reaction between ACESC and thiosulfate, and L-alanine sulfodisulfane, one of the reaction products, was determined using acid ninhydrin reagent 2 of M. K. Gaitonde (1967, Biochem. J. 104, 627-633). The recovery was over 95%. When samples contained sulfite in addition to thiosulfate, S-sulfo-L-cysteine (T. Ubuka et al., 1982, Anal. Biochem. 126, 273-277) was produced in addition to L-alanine sulfodisulfane by the treatment with ACESC. Both products were separated by a small Dowex 1 column and determined with the acid ninhydrin reagent 2. The recoveries were over 95%. The new method was applied to the thiosulfate sulfurtransferase reaction, in which thiosulfate, a substrate, and sulfite, a product, were determined separately.

Chemical Phenomena↗

Free sphingosines in porcine epidermis.

Sphingosines and phytosphingosines serve as intermediates in the synthesis of ceramides and glucosylceramides, which are prominent components of mammalian epidermis. In the present study, we have investigated the possibility that free sphingoid bases also may be present in epidermal tissue. Samples of pig epidermis were trypsinized to separate the stratum corneum from the unkeratinized portion of the epidermis. After drying, the lipids were extracted and analyzed by thin-layer chromatography using ninhydrin to detect free amino groups. Both the stratum corneum and the unkeratinized epidermal material contained a ninhydrin-positive material with the same mobility as the sphingosine standard. Quantitation of the chromatograms by photodensitometry indicated that free sphingosine bases account for 0.44% by weight of the total stratum corneum lipid and 0.09% of the lipid in the viable portion of the epidermis. To further identify this material, it was treated with 1-fluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene, which resulted in the production of an intensely yellow N-2,4-dinitrophenyl derivative with the same mobility as N-2,4-dinitrophenylsphingosine on thin-layer chromatography. Oxidation of the isolated dinitrophenyl derivative with lead tetraacetate produced a mixture of aldehydes which were analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography. This analysis indicates that the free sphingoid bases from the stratum corneum consist of a mixture of mainly 16- through 20-carbon sphingenines and sphinganines, the most abundant components being d17:0, d17:1, d18:1 and d20:1. The production of these free sphingosine bases may be significant in regulating epidermal differentiation.

Animals↗

Structural studies on a glycoprotein isolated from alveoli of patients with alveolar proteinosis.

A major glycoprotein 36 000 molecular weight) has been isolated from lung lavage of patients with alveolar proteinosis and found to contain five residues of hydroxyproline, fifty residues of glycine, three residues of methionine, 3 mol of sialic acid, 4.4 mol of mannose, 4.0 mol of galactose, 6.0 mol of glucosamine, and 1 mol of fucose. Cyanogen bromide (CNBr) treatment of the glycoprotein resulted, as expected, in four peptides of apparent molecular weights of 18 000, 12 000, 5000 and 1000, respectively. The chemical compositions of the CNBr peptides indicate the presence of hydroxyproline and high amounts of glycine in all but one of the peptides; two of the four CNBr peptides contain carbohydrate. Gel filtration, acrylamide gel electrophoresis and end-group analyses of the native glycoprotein and its CNBr peptides indicate that the peptides are homogeneous. End-group analyses of the CNBr cleavage products assign the 18 000 molecular weight peptide to the NH2-terminal portion and the 1000 molecular weight peptide to the COOH-terminal portion of the native glycoprotein molecule. Pronase digestion of the 36 000 molecular weight glycoprotein, followed by gel filtration and cation exchange chromatography, resulted in two fractions. One fraction was acidic and contained all the carbohydrate, a high content of aspartic acid and no hydroxyproline. The other fraction was basic and contained 8.4% hydroxyproline, 14% proline, 28% glycine and no carbohydrate, suggesting the presence of collagen-like sequence in the peptide chain. Paper electrophoresis of the basic fraction demonstrated two components, the amino acid compositions of which are identical to those of collagen. Partial amino-terminal sequence analysis of one of the CNBr peptides (18 000 molecular weight) indicated the presence of -Fly-Pro-HyP-Gly-sequence in the peptide chain, which confirms our suggestion that collagen-like regions are present in the native glycoprotein molecule. Limited acid hydrolysis of the acidic fraction and subsequent fractionation of the acid hydrolysate using Dowex column yielded a fraction which produced brown colour with ninhydrin reagent. Paper chromatography of this fraction demonstrated a large component which also stained brown with ninhydrin reagent. After acid hydrolysis, this component was found to consist of equal amounts of asparitic acid and glucosamine, indicating that the N-acetylglucosamine of the oligosaccharides is linked to the asparagine residue of the peptide. No serine or threonine linkages are present.

Amino Acids↗

A simplified procedure for the estimation of arginine in plasma and urine using arginase.

To ensure reliable arginine estimation, other compounds giving positive results with Chinard's ninhydrin reaction were removed by simple ion-exchange chromatography. Eluted arginine was converted to ornithine by arginase and estimated using Chinard's ninhydrin reaction. Plasma arginine level in adults was in the range 56--98 mumol/l, and urine arginine in the range 0.58--1.77 mg/day.

Adult↗

Decomposition of cyanobacterial microcystins by iron(III) chloride.

Microcystins RR and LR, which were mainly detected in Japan, were reacted with iron(III) chloride in 0.1N hydrochloric acid. Fifty percent of microcystins RR and LR were immediately decomposed at less than ten minutes, and the decomposition was not dependent on pH (2.0-8.0). The decomposed product was purified by a Sep-Pak C18 cartridge, and chromatographed by a silica gel thin layer. As a result, about eight spots were observed in the decomposed product line, three of which were ninhydrin-negative; the others positive. One of these ninhydrin-negative spots was determined (2S, 3S, 8S)-3-amino-2, 6, 8-trimehyl-10-phenyldeca-4E, 6E-dienoic acid by GC-MS analysis. In addition, the product obtained from the decomposed microcystin LR with iron(III) chloride did not have an acute toxicity.

Animals↗

Determination of prolidase activity using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Proline-containing peptides of the X-proline type are cleaved by the dipeptidase prolidase. The classical method of prolidase assay relied on the colorimetric estimation of the liberated proline with ninhydrin using acidic media and heat. This method, however, gave inconsistent results due to the nonspecificity of the ninhydrin color reaction. We report here a method for the detection of the liberated proline using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. Human sera were incubated with a mixture containing the dipeptide glycyl-proline in Tris-HCl supplemented with manganese at 37 degrees C for 24h. The samples were precipitated with trifluoroacetic acid and centrifuged. An aliquot of the supernatant was mixed with an equal volume of ferulic acid solution. An aliquot from this mixture was spotted on a stainless steel mass spectrometry grid and analyzed using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The activity of the enzyme was determined by the complete disappearance of the glycyl-proline peak with the concomitant appearance of the proline peak and can be expressed in terms of the ratio of the area beneath the proline to the area beneath the glycyl-proline peak. Subjects homozygous for prolidase deficiency had a ratio ranging from 0.006 to 0.04 while obligatory heterozygotes had a ratio ranging from around 1.1 to 2.4. Normal subjects had ratios ranging from 9 to 239. Using this method we have unambiguously identified subjects with homozygous or heterozygous prolidase deficiency. In addition to the advantage of rapid sample preparation time, this method is highly specific, reproducible, and sensitive.

Colorimetry↗

The use of omicron-phthalaldehyde for fluorescence detection in conventional amino acid analyzers. Sub-nanomole sensitivity in the analysis of phenylthiohydantoin-amino acids.

A conventional amino acid analyzer has been modified for fluorescence detection using omicron-phthalaldehyde. The original ninhydrin system is retained, and the amino acid analyzer can be used with either of the detection systems. The fluorescence detection is used for identification of PTH-amino acids after back hydrolysis, when nanomole amounts of proteins are sequenced. Impurities in the water and the chemicals used for buffer preparations are limiting factors for the sensitivity of the fluorescence detection system. A 100-fold increase in sensitivity above the original ninhydrin system is obtained.

Amino Acids↗

Thin-layer chromatographic screening methods for histamine in tuna fish.

Twelve solvent systems were tested for their ability to separate histamine and histidine on a variety of thin-layer coatings. The best solvent-adsorbent systems were: chloroform-methanol-ammonia (2:2:1), methanol-ammonia (20:1), acetone-ammonia (95:5), and double development with (a) n-butanol-acetone-water (2:2:1) and (b) chloroform-methanol-ammonia (12:7:1), all on silica-gel layers. Ninhydrin was used as the visualization reagent. These four systems were then evaluated for their potential use as rapid screening procedures in the detection of possibly deleterious levels of histamine in tuna fish. Successful separation of histamine from the other ninhydrin-positive components of methanolic tuna fish extracts was achieved with all four systems. A sample from a lot of tuna implicated in human illness was found to have a histamine level considerably higher than tuna purchased from a local retail outlet or an extract spiked to a histamine level considered to be a threshold value for toxicity symptoms. The methanol-ammonia (20:1) and chloroform-methanol-ammonia (2:2:1) systems, used with silica-gel plates, are the most promising for rapid preliminary screening of tuna fish extracts for histamine.

Animals↗

Enzyme inhibition XI: glutamate decarboxylase activity relationship with the reaction products as determined by the colorimetric and radioisotopic methods.

The relationship of glutamate acid decarboxylase (GAD) activity with the reaction products was developed. It was based on incubating sodium glutamate substrate (S) with GAD enzyme (E) when the enzyme-substrate-complex (ES) product was obtained along with gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) and unreacted sodium glutamate. The reaction products were separated by paper chromatography. The ES, GABA and S products were sprayed with ninhydrin reagent when ninhydrin-colored-complex (NCC) was formed on the paper chromatogram. The products were extracted with 75% ethanol containing 0.5% cupric sulfate. The NCC absorption readings of ES and S products were measured by a spectrophotometer. A standard curve was prepared by plotting absorption readings against different concentrations of sodium glutamate. This curve was the basis of determining GAD activity of E. coli and C. welchii. It was observed that NCC absorption of ES and S products was directly related with the enzyme activity. The qualities of ES and S products in the reaction mixture increased as the enzyme activity increased with the incubation time. On the other hand, some products in the reaction mixture decreased in the presence of an inhibitor of GAD activity. The relationship of reaction products with GAD activity was also established by the radioisotopic method. The results obtained by the chromatographic separation of products followed by the spectrophotometric method of determining GAD activity is a simple, safe and less expensive compared to the other methods.

Arsenates↗