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Inhibition of hepatic gluconeogenesis by the Rp-diastereomer of adenosine cyclic 3',5'-phosphorothioate.

The specific intracellular cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase antagonist, the Rp-diastereomer of adenosine cyclic 3',5'-phosphorothioate (Rp-cAMPS), inhibited both basal and cyclic AMP-agonist-induced rates of gluconeogenesis in hepatocytes isolated from fasted rats. Incubation of the cells in the presence of pyruvate and lactate and either the Sp-diastereomer of adenosine cyclic 3',5'-phosphorothioate (Sp-cAMPS) or glucagon produced a concentration-dependent increase in the rate of gluconeogenic glucose production which was shifted to higher concentrations of Sp-cAMPS or glucagon in the presence of Rp-cAMPS. Incubation of the cells with Rp-cAMPS in the absence of agonist produced no increase in the rate of glucose production and, in most cases, 100 microM-Rp-cAMPS resulted in 14-20% decrease in the substrate-stimulated rate of glucose production. Sp-cAMPS-induced gluconeogenesis was inhibited half-maximally at 1 microM-Rp-cAMPS and glucagon-induced gluconeogenesis was inhibited half-maximally at 12 microM-Rp-cAMPS. Approx. 10-15% of the inhibition of gluconeogenesis observed in the presence of Rp-cAMPS was due to conversion of glucose 6-phosphate to liver glycogen, consistent with Rp-cAMPS-induced reactivation of glycogen synthase. The remaining 85-90% inhibition of gluconeogenic glucose production resulted from the action of Rp-cAMPS on the cyclic AMP-sensitive enzymes controlling the rate of gluconeogenesis.

Animals↗

Lipoic acid metabolism in Escherichia coli: sequencing and functional characterization of the lipA and lipB genes.

Two genes, lipA and lipB, involved in lipoic acid biosynthesis or metabolism were characterized by DNA sequence analysis. The translational initiation site of the lipA gene was established, and the lipB gene product was identified as a 25-kDa protein. Overproduction of LipA resulted in the formation of inclusion bodies, from which the protein was readily purified. Cells grown under strictly anaerobic conditions required the lipA and lipB gene products for the synthesis of a functional glycine cleavage system. Mutants carrying a null mutation in the lipB gene retained a partial ability to synthesize lipoic acid and produced low levels of pyruvate dehydrogenase and alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase activities. The lipA gene product failed to convert protein-bound octanoic acid moieties to lipoic acid moieties in vivo; however, the growth of both lipA and lipB mutants was supported by either 6-thiooctanoic acid or 8-thiooctanoic acid in place of lipoic acid. These data suggest that LipA is required for the insertion of the first sulfur into the octanoic acid backbone. LipB functions downstream of LipA, but its role in lipoic acid metabolism remains unclear.

Aerobiosis↗

Acetate-nonutilizing mutants of Neurospora rassa. II. Biochemical deficiencies and the roles of certain enzymes.

The levels of Krebs cycle, glyoxylate cycle, and certain other enzymes were measured in a wild-type strain and in seven groups of acetate-nonutilizing (acu) mutants of Neurospora crassa, both after growth on a medium containing sucrose and after a subsequent 6-hr incubation in a similar medium, containing acetate as the sole source of carbon. In the wild strain, incubation in acetate medium caused a rise in the levels of isocitrate lyase, malate synthase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, acetyl-coenzyme A synthetase, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase, citrate synthase, and fumarate hydratase. Isocitrate lyase activity was absent in acu-3 mutants; acu-5 mutants lacked acetyl-coenzyme A synthetase activity; and no oxoglutarate dehydrogenase activity (or only low levels) could be detected in acu-2 and acu-7 mutants. In acu-6 mutants, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase activity was either very low or absent. No specific biochemical deficiencies could be attributed to the acu-1 and acu-4 mutations. The role of several of these enzymes during growth on acetate is discussed.

Acetates↗

Changes in ATP, phosphocreatine, and 16 metabolites in muscle stimulated for up to 96 hours.

Rabbit tibialis anterior muscles were stimulated continuously at 10 Hz for periods ranging from 2 min to 96 h and were analyzed for energy reserves and metabolic intermediates. Glycogen, ATP and phosphocreatine fell rapidly during the first 5 min of stimulation. Glycogen continued to fall to very low levels, whereas ATP and phosphocreatine rose, reaching 70% of control by 1 h, despite ongoing stimulation. After 2 h, glycogen also increased, regaining control levels in 4 days. Glucose rose to 4.5 times control in 30 min and still exceeded 2.5 times control at 24 h. In the first 2 min, glycolytic intermediates, glucose 6-phosphate (G-6-P), fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, lactate, and pyruvate more than doubled and then returned to control levels or below. Malate and 3-glycerophosphate rose 600 and 200%, respectively. Both of these compounds participate in shuttling reducing equivalents from cytoplasm into mitochondria. Citrate and alpha-ketoglutarate underwent much more modest changes. Glucose 1,6-bisphosphate (G-1,6-P2) fell to one-third of control by 2 h and then rose dramatically at 4 h. At 4 days it was still twice control. The 6-phosphogluconate (6PG) doubled at 2 min, then rose to 12 times control at 2 h, fell somewhat, and peaked at 16 times control at 24 h. Aspartate and alanine both exhibited a biphasic rise in concentration, whereas glutamate fell to 30% in 15 min and rose slowly after 4 h. The rise in glucose was interpreted to be the consequence of rapid glycogenolysis together with inhibition of hexokinase by G-1,6-P2 and elevated G-6-P. Paradoxically, glycogen resynthesis apparently occurred when the glycogen synthase stimulator, G-6-P, was very low, and the glycolysis stimulator, G-1,6-P2, was high. Although G-1,6-P2 is an inhibitor of 6PG dehydrogenase, the timing of the changes in G-1,6-P2 and 6PG levels suggests that the accumulation of 6PG was initiated by some other influence.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Properties of chitin synthetase in isolated chitosomes from yeast cells of Mucor rouxii.

Chitin synthetase was isolated and purified 120-fold from the supernatant fraction (54,500 X g) of broken yeast cells of Mucor rouxii. The purified preparations consisted mainly of chitin synthetase particles (chitosomes) with an average size larger than 7 X 10(6) daltons (by gel filtration) and an average sedimentation coefficient of 105 S. The samples also contained other enzyme complexes (fatty acid synthetase, pyruvate dehydrogenase, and, depending on method, ribosomes). Nearly all of the chitosomal chitin synthetase occurred in a zymogenic form that required proteolytic activation. In most properties, the chitosomal enzyme was similar to crude enzyme (54,000 X g sediment): kinetics, activation by proteases, response to metals, stimulation by N-acetylglucosamine, and inhibition by polyoxin or UDP. One mamor difference was the much greater stability of the chitosomal chitin synthetase zymogen against spontaneous activation and destruction. Product (chitin microfibril) and enzyme (chitin synthetase) remained associated in a complex that was readily separated by centrifugation.

Acetylglucosamine↗

Influence of L-lysine and zinc administration during exposure to lead or lead and ethanol in rats.

Influence of lysine and zinc administration on the lead-sensitive biochemical parameters and the accumulation of lead during exposure to lead or lead and ethanol was investigated in rats. The lead exposure inhibited blood delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD) activity, increased blood zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP), urinary delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), serum glutamic oxalacetic transaminase (SGOT), serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT), blood and tissue lead levels, and decreased blood and hepatic glutathione (GSH) contents. Some of these effects were enhanced on coexposure to ethanol. The simultaneous administration of lysine and zinc reduced tissue accumulation of lead and most of the lead-induced biochemical alterations irrespective of exposure to lead alone or lead and ethanol. The depletion of endogenous calcium and magnesium owing to lead or ethanol exposure was also prevented by co-administration of lysine and zinc.

Alanine Transaminase↗

Kinetic properties of Serratia marcescens adenosine 5'-diphosphate glucose pyrophosphorylase.

The regulatory properties of partially purified adenosine 5'-diphosphate-(ADP) glucose pyrophosphorylase from two Serratia marcescens strains (ATCC 274 and ATCC 15365) have been studied. Slight or negligible activation by fructose-P2, pyridoxal-phosphate, or reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) was observed. These compounds were previously shown to be potent activators of the ADPglucose pyrophosphorylases from the enterics, Salmonella typhimurium, Enterobacter aerogenes, Enterobacter cloacae, Citrobacter freundii, Escherichia aurescens, Shigella dysenteriae, and Escherichia coli. Phosphoenolpyruvate stimulated the rate of ADPglucose synthesis catalyzed by Serratia ADPglucose pyrophosphorylase about 1.5- to 2-fold but did not affect the S0.5 values (concentration of substrate required for 50% maximal stimulation) of the substrates, alpha-glucose-1-phosphate, and adenosine 5'-triphosphate. Adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP), a potent inhibitor of the enteric ADPglucose pyrophosphorylase, is an effective inhibitor of the S. marcescens enzyme. ADP also inhibits but is not as effective as AMP. Activators of the enteric enzyme counteract the inhibition caused by AMP. This is in contrast to what is observed for the S. marcescens enzyme. Neither phosphoenolpyruvate, fructose-diphosphate, pyridoxal-phosphate, NADPH, 3-phosphoglycerate, fructose-6-phosphate, nor pyruvate effect the inhibition caused by AMP. The properties of the S. marcescens HY strain and Serratia liquefaciens ADPglucose pyrophosphorylase were found to be similar to the above two S. marcescens enzymes with respect to activation and inhibition. These observations provide another example where the properties of an enzyme found in the genus Serratia have been found to be different from the properties of the same enzyme present in the enteric genera Escherichia, Salmonella, Shigella, Citrobacter, and Enterobacter.

1,4-alpha-Glucan Branching Enzyme↗

Regulation of branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis.

Formation of branched-chain amino acids in microorganisms is controlled mainly by end-product inhibition of the enzyme action but also by repression of enzyme synthesis. The two mechanisms may be interrelated. Regulation of the metabolite flow by end-product inhibition is realized by the inhibition of threonine deaminase by isoleucine; inhibition of acetohydroxy acid synthetase by valine and inhibition of alpha-isopropylmalate synthetase by leucine. Acetohydroxy acid synthetase has a key position in the pathway, since the enzyme catalyzes not only the synthesis of acetolactate, the valine and isoleucine precursor from pyruvate, but also that of acetohydroxybutyrate, the isoleucine precursar from alpha-ketobutyrate and pyruvate. Quenching of valine pathway by valine would be expected to be accompanied by a quenching of the isoleucine pathway as well. Nevertheless, aceto-hydroxybutyrate is formed rather than acetolactate, since alpha-ketobutyrate has a greater affinity to the enzyme than pyruvate and the inhibitory effect of valine is directly proportional to substrate concentration. It could completely reverse the inhibition. Regulation on the physiological level of the pathways to the branched-chain amino acids occurs by the repression of the leucine and isoleucine-valine biosynthetic enzymes. A phenotypic derepression caused by valine was detectable in the case of the latter biosynthetic enzymes. The idea that aminoacyl tRNA formation is a necessary reaction in the formation of the 'repressor" has been supported by numerous data. Indeed, some of the latest reports suggest that aminoacyl tRNA interaction with feedback sensitive enzyme may play an important role in the repression.

2-Isopropylmalate Synthase↗

Effects of 4 wk of hindlimb suspension on skeletal muscle mitochondrial respiration in rats.

We investigated in rats the effect of 4 wk of hypodynamia on the respiration of mitochondria isolated from four distinct muscles [soleus, extensor digitorum longus, tibial anterior, and gastrocnemius (Gas)] and from subsarcolemmal (SS) and intermyofibrillar (IMF) regions of mixed hindlimb muscles that mainly contained the four cited muscles. With pyruvate plus malate as respiratory substrate, 4 wk of hindlimb suspension produced an 18% decrease in state 3 respiration for IMF mitochondria compared with those in the control group (P < 0.05). The SS mitochondria state 3 were not significantly changed. Concerning the four single muscles, the mitochondrial respiration was significantly decreased in the Gas muscle, which showed a 59% decrease in state 3 with pyruvate + malate (P < 0.05). The other muscles presented no significant decrease in respiratory rate in comparison with the control group. With succinate + rotenone, there was no significant difference in the respiratory rate compared with the respective control group, whatever the mitochondrial origin (SS, or IMF, or from single muscle). We conclude that 4 wk of hindlimb suspension alters the respiration of IMF mitochondria in hindlimb skeletal muscles and seems to act negatively on complex I of the electron-transport chain or prior sites. The muscle mitochondria most affected are those isolated from the Gas muscle.

Animals↗

A yeast mutant with glucose-resistant formation of mitochondrial enzymes.

Yeast mutants with glucose-insensitive formation of mitochondrial enzymes were isolated starting with a strain completely lacking alcohol dehydrogenase activity. The mutations could uniquely be attributed to a single nuclear gene, designated CCR80. They were largely dominant. Glucose-resistant enzyme formation was most prominent with regard to mitochondrial enzymes succinate dehydrogenase and NADH: cytochrome c oxidoreductase. The effect of CCR80r mutations was rather small but significant on the gluconeogenetic enzymes isocitrate lyase, malate synthase and fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase and on invertase synthesis. The repressive effect of maltose in CCR80r mutants was also reduced showing that glucose-resistance is not caused by a mere hexose uptake defect. This regulatory disorders were not accompanied by reduced levels of glycolytic enzymes or drastically altered levels of glycolytic intermediates. Aerobic fermentation of glucose was almost completely inhibited in the mutants; anaerobic glucose degradation was reduced but not completely abolished. Therefore, the mutants appear to be altered in the regulation of glycolysis. A largely glucose-resistant synthesis of respiratory enzymes is obviously a corollary of this alteration.

Genes, Regulator↗

Metabolic effects of histidine-deficient diets fed to growing rats by gastric tube.

Effects of histidine deficiency on muscle carnosine and anserine levels and on activities of enzymes associated with histidine catabolism and protoporphyrin synthesis were investigated. Male Sprague-Dawley (150 g) rats were tube-fed isonitrogenous, isocaloric, defined diets containing 0%, low (0.013%) or adequate (0.45%) histidine for 8-13 days. While histidine-deficient animals maintained body weight, muscle and plasma histidine and carnosine concentrations decreased rapidly and remained low following a 3-day histidine repletion period. Hepatic histidine ammonia-lyase and histidine-pyruvate transaminase activities were decreased in histidine-deficient animals, whereas formiminotransferase activity was unchanged. Hematocrit levels and hemoglobin concentrations declined progressively during histidine depletion and the activity of erythrocyte and hepatic delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase also decreased relative to controls. Evidence is presented indicating that decreased histidine catabolism combined with carnosine and hemoglobin degradation can provide sufficient histidine to explain the slow onset of negative nitrogen balance associated with histidine deficiency and that impaired protoporphyrin synthesis may partially explain the anemia observed in the absence of dietary histidine.

Animals↗

Control of the tricarboxylate cycle and its interactions with glycolysis during acetate utilization in rat heart.

1. Transient and steady-state changes caused by acetate utilization were studied in perfused rat heart. The transient period occupied 6min and steady-state changes were followed in a further 6min of perfusion. 2. In control perfusions glucose oxidation accounted for 75% of oxygen utilization; the remaining 25% was assumed to represent oxidation of glyceride fatty acids. With acetate in the steady state, acetate oxidation accounted for 80% of oxygen utilization, which increased by 20%; glucose oxidation was almost totally suppressed. The rate of tricarboxylate-cycle turnover increased by 67% with acetate perfusion. The net yield of ATP in the steady state was not altered by acetate. 3. Acetate oxidation increased muscle concentrations of acetyl-CoA, citrate, isocitrate, 2-oxoglutarate, glutamate, alanine, AMP and glucose 6-phosphate, and lowered those of CoA and aspartate; the concentrations of pyruvate, ATP and ADP showed no detectable change. The times for maximum changes were 1min, acetyl-CoA, CoA, alanine and AMP; 6min, citrate, isocitrate, glutamate and aspartate; 2-4min, 2-oxoglutarate. Malate concentration fell in the first minute and rose to a value somewhat greater than in the control by 6min. There was a transient and rapid rise in glucose 6-phosphate concentration in the first minute superimposed on the slower rise over 6min. 4. Acetate perfusion decreased the output of lactate, the muscle concentration of lactate and the [lactate]/[pyruvate] ratio in perfusion medium and muscle in the first minute; these returned to control values by 6min. 5. During the first minute acetate decreased oxygen consumption and lowered the net yield of ATP by 30% without any significant change in muscle ATP or ADP concentrations. 6. The specific radioactivities of cycle metabolites were measured during and after a 1min pulse of [1-(14)C]acetate delivered in the first and twelfth minutes of acetate perfusion. A model based on the known flow rates and concentrations of cycle metabolites was analysed by computer simulation. The model, which assumed single pools of cycle metabolites, fitted the data well with the inclusion of an isotope-exchange reaction between isocitrate and 2-oxoglutarate+bicarbonate. The exchange was verified by perfusions with [(14)C]bicarbonate. There was no evidence for isotope exchange between citrate and acetyl-CoA or between 2-oxoglutarate and malate. There was rapid isotope equilibration between 2-oxoglutarate and glutamate, but relatively poor isotope equilibration between malate and aspartate. 7. It is concluded that the citrate synthase reaction is displaced from equilibrium in rat heart, that isocitrate dehydrogenase and aconitate hydratase may approximate to equilibrium, that alanine aminotransferase is close to equilibrium, but that aspartate transamination is slow for reasons that have yet to be investigated. 8. The slow rise in citrate concentration as compared with the rapid rise in that of acetyl-CoA is attributed to the slow generation of oxaloacetate by aspartate aminotransferase. 9. It is proposed that the tricarboxylate cycle may operate as two spans: acetyl-CoA-->2-oxoglutarate, controlled by citrate synthase, and 2-oxoglutarate-->oxaloacetate, controlled by 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase; a scheme for cycle control during acetate oxidation is outlined. The initiating factors are considered to be changes in acetyl-CoA, CoA and AMP concentrations brought about by acetyl-CoA synthetase. 10. Evidence is presented for a transient inhibition of phosphofructokinase during the first minute of acetate perfusion that was not due to a rise in whole-tissue citrate concentration. The probable importance of metabolite compartmentation is stressed.

Acetates↗

A mathematical model of compartmentalized neurotransmitter metabolism in the human brain.

After administration of enriched [1-13C]glucose, the rate of 13C label incorporation into glutamate C4, C3, and C2, glutamine C4, C3, and C2, and aspartate C2 and C3 was simultaneously measured in six normal subjects by 13C NMR at 4 Tesla in 45-ml volumes encompassing the visual cortex. The resulting eight time courses were simultaneously fitted to a mathematical model. The rate of (neuronal) tricarboxylic acid cycle flux (V(PDH)), 0.57 +/- 0.06 micromol. g(-1). min(-1), was comparable to the exchange rate between (mitochondrial) 2-oxoglutarate and (cytosolic) glutamate (Vx), 0.57 +/- 0.19 micromol. g(-1). min(-1)), which may reflect to a large extent malate-aspartate shuttle activity. At rest, oxidative glucose consumption [CMR(Glc(ox))] was 0.41 +/- 0.03 miccromol. g(-1). min(-1), and (glial) pyruvate carboxylation (VPC) was 0.09 +/- 0.02 micromol. g(-1). min(-1). The flux through glutamine synthetase (Vsyn) was 0.26 +/- 0.06 micromol. g(-1). min(-1). A fraction of Vsyn was attributed to be from (neuronal) glutamate, and the corresponding rate of apparent glutamatergic neurotransmission (VNT) was 0.17 +/- 0.05 micromol. g(-1). min(-1). The ratio [VNT/CMR(Glcox)] was 0.41 +/- 0.14 and thus clearly different from a 1:1 stoichiometry, consistent with a significant fraction (approximately 90%) of ATP generated in astrocytes being oxidative. The study underlines the importance of assumptions made in modeling 13C labeling data in brain.

Algorithms↗

Some properties of glutamine synthetase from the nitrifying bacterium Nitrosomonas europaea.

Nitrosomonas europaea oxidizes ammonia to nitrite, thereby deriving energy for growth. Glutamate dehydrogenase (NADP+) (EC 1.4.1.4) is the main route for the incorporation of ammonia into glutamic acid, because glutamate synthase (NADPH)(EC 1.4.1.13) was not detected in cell-free extracts of N. europaea. Some properties of a partially purified glutamine synthetase (EC 6.3.1.2) have been determined, namely the effects of pH and metal ions, substrate requirements, Km and Ki values, based on biosynthetic and gamma-glutamyltransferase (EC 2.3.2.2) assays. The molecular weight of the enzyme preparation was approximately 440 000. The gamma-glutamyltransferase activity was markedly inhibited by alanine, lysine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid and serine and to a lesser extent by glycine, asparagine, arginine and histidine. Except for tryptophan and cystine, the gamma-glutamyltransferase activity was inhibited to a greater extent by these amino acids than was the biosynthetic activity. Different pairs of amino acids in various combinations resulted in a cumulative inhibition of enzyme activity determined by either method. Of the various nucleotides tested, the gamma-glutamlytransferase activity of the enzyme was inhibited to a greater extent by di- and triphosphate nucleotides--IDP, CDP, UDP, ITP, CTP, TTP and ATP (except GDP and GTP) than by monophosphate nucleotides except AMP. Saturating concentrations of pyruvate, oxalate, oxaloacetate and alpha-ketoglutarate depressed enzyme activity. Various combinations of amino acids with adenine nucleotides exerted cumulative inhibitory effects on the transferase activity.

Amino Acids↗

Substrate availability and transcriptional regulation of metabolic genes in human skeletal muscle during recovery from exercise.

In skeletal muscle of humans, transcription of several metabolic genes is transiently induced during recovery from exercise when no food is consumed. To determine the potential influence of substrate availability on the transcriptional regulation of metabolic genes during recovery from exercise, 9 male subjects (aged 22-27) completed 75 minutes of cycling exercise at 75% Vo2 max on 2 occasions, consuming either a high-carbohydrate (HC) or low-carbohydrate (LC) diet during the subsequent 24 hours of recovery. Nuclei were isolated and tissue frozen from vastus lateralis muscle biopsies obtained before exercise and 2, 5, 8, and 24 hours after exercise. Muscle glycogen was restored to near resting levels within 5 hours in the HC trial, but remained depressed through 24 hours in the LC trial. During the 2- to 8-hour recovery period, leg glucose uptake was 5- to 15-fold higher with HC ingestion, whereas arterial plasma free fatty acid levels were approximately 3- to 7-fold higher with LC ingestion. Exercise increased (P < .05) transcription and/or mRNA content of the pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4, uncoupling protein 3, lipoprotein lipase, carnitine palmitoyltransferase I, hexokinase II, peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma coactivator-1 alpha, and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha. Providing HC during recovery reversed the activation of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4, uncoupling protein 3, lipoprotein lipase, and carnitine palmitoyltransferase I within 5 to 8 hours after exercise, whereas providing LC during recovery elicited a sustained/enhanced increase in activation of these genes through 8 to 24 hours of recovery. These findings provide evidence that factors associated with substrate availability and/or cellular metabolic recovery (eg, muscle glycogen restoration) influence the transcriptional regulation of metabolic genes in skeletal muscle of humans during recovery from exercise.

Adult↗

Role of various carbon and nitrogen sources in the regulation of enzymes of pyrimidine biosynthesis in Mycobacterium smegmatis TMC 1546.

Pyrimidine biosynthesis and its regulation in the presence of different carbon and nitrogen sources in the growth medium of Mycobacterium smegmatis were studied. M. smegmatis TMC 1546 cells grown in shake culture were found to have marginally higher pyrimidine enzyme biosynthesis activities than cells grown in static culture. The activity was highest at the mid-log phase of growth during both surface and shake cultures, suggesting that the cells were metabolically most active at this stage of growth. Replacement of glycerol by glucose and fructose slightly increased the activities of carbamyl phosphate synthetase and aspartate transcarbamylase. The enzyme activities involved in pyrimidine biosynthesis decreased when citrate was replaced by succinate, fumarate, pyruvate or acetate in the growth medium. The activities of the enzymes in pyrimidine biosynthesis were found to decrease when asparagine as a nitrogen source in the medium was replaced by glutamate, glutamine or ammonium chloride. The presence of ornithine in place of asparagine in the growth medium increased these enzyme activities, while the presence of arginine instead of asparagine in the growth medium decreased these enzyme activities, though the differences in activity were small. The activity of aspartate transcarbamylase in vitro was inhibited by arginine. In the case of cells grown in the presence of ornithine, the activity of aspartate transcarbamylase was induced by ornithine, but inhibited by arginine.

Amino Acids↗

Abnormal expression of urea cycle enzyme genes in juvenile visceral steatosis (jvs) mice.

Juvenile visceral steatosis (jvs) mice from the C3H-H-2 degrees strain have markedly low levels of all the hepatic urea cycle enzymes (Imamura et al. (1990) FEBS Lett. 260, 119-121). The steady state levels of messenger RNA for the four urea cycle enzymes examined and also for albumin and serine dehydratase were severely reduced in the liver. The levels of mRNA for other liver-specific enzymes including aldolase B and phospho enol pyruvate carboxykinase did not vary significantly from normal littermates. As for extrahepatic expression of the urea cycle enzymes, only argininosuccinate synthetase in the kidney was decreased. Nuclear run-on experiments showed reduced transcription of the corresponding genes, which mostly accounts for the low mRNA levels. Furthermore, the time-course of mRNA accumulation from 5 days of age showed that the developmental induction of hepatic carbamyl phosphate synthetase and argininosuccinate synthetase mRNAs was strongly suppressed. These results suggest that jvs affects not only the regulation of the tissue-specific expression of the urea cycle enzymes but also the regulation of their developmental induction.

Animals↗

The localization of glycollate-pathway enzymes in Euglena.

Isolation of organelles from broken-cell suspensions of phototrophically grown Euglena gracilis Klebs was achieved by isopycnic centrifugation on sucrose gradients. 2. Equilibrium densities of 1.23g/cm3 for peroxisome-like particles, 1.22g/cm3 for mitochondria and 1.17g/cm3 for chloroplasts were recorded. 3. The enzymes glycollate dehydrogenase, glutamate-glyoxylate aminotransferase, serineglyoxylate aminotransferase, aspartate-alpha-oxoglutarate aminotransferase, hydroxy pyruvate reductase and malate dehydrogenase were present in peroxisome-like particles. 4. Unlike higher plants glycollate dehydrogenase and glutamate-glyoxylate aminotransferase were present in the mitochondria of Euglena. 5. Rates of glycollate and D-lactate oxidation were additive in the mitochondria, and, although glycollate dehydrogenase was inhibited by cyanide, D-lactate dehydrogenase activity was unaffected. 6. Glycollate oxidation was linked to O2 uptake in mitochondria but not in peroxisome-like particles. This glycollate-dependent O2 uptake was inhibited by antimycin A or cyanide. 7. The physiological significance of glycollate metabolism in Euglena mitochondria is discussed, with special reference to its role in photorespiration in algae.

Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗