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Effects of dithiothreitol on end-plate currents.

1. End-plate currents have been studied in frog cutaneus pectoris nerve-muscle preparations mounted in continuously flowing solution, using the voltage clamp technique. 2. Exposure of the muscle to 1 mM-dithiothreitol reduced the amplitude of end-plate currents by a factor of 2.7 (mean; range 1.6-3.4; twelve fibres). 3. 1 mM-dithiothreitol also caused a 2.7-fold (2.3-3.1) increase in the rate of decay, and a 1.4-fold (1.3-1.6) decrease in the time to peak of end-plate currents. During the onset of action of dithiothreitol, there was little or no indication of departure of end-plate current decay from a simple exponential. 4. Dithiothreitol actions on amplitude and decay of end-plate currents developed with similar time courses and both effects were slower in onset at pH 7.2 than at pH 8.5. 5. The actions of dithiothreitol were reversed by exposure of the muscle to 1 mM-5,5'-dithio-bis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid). 6. Following dithiothreitol treatment, the rates of decay of end-plate currents continued to depend on membrane potential; there was little or no change in the slope of the relation between in (rate of decay) and membrane potential, consistent with little or no change in the dipole moment of a gating molecule for ion channels. 7. Dithiothreitol changed the relation between peak end-plate current and membrane potential, so that peak conductance increased at more negative membrane potentials; this finding could be accounted for in terms of the closure of ion-channel gates becoming faster though remaining voltage-sensitive after exposure to dithiothreitol. 8. It is concluded that dithiothreitol causes changes in the kinetics of gating of ion channels associated with receptors and that these changes accompany changes in the binding of ACh to receptors.

Animals

Regulation of protein synthesis by hemin: effect of dithiothreitol on the formation and activity of the hemin-controlled translational repressor.

Previous studies have demonstrated that the hemin-controlled translational repressor (HCR), a high molecular weight protein inhibitor of polypeptide chain initiation in rabbit reticulocyte lysate, is formed from a presynthesized prorepressor over a period of 12--18 h in three stages denoted reversible, intermediate, and irreversible. The prorepressor can, however, be completely converted to irreversible HCR within 2 min by incubation with such sulfhydryl reagents as N-ethylmaleimide. The results in this report demonstrate that dithiothreitol, which stabilizes thiol groups, will, like hemin, prevent the conversion of the prorepressor to HCR and will inactivate reversible HCR. Unlike hemin, dithiothreitol also inactives the intermediate form of HCR. Neither dithiothreitol nor hemin has any effect on the activity of irreversible HCR. Since the prorepressor used in these experiments had been separated from the supernatant factor (a soluble protein that reverses the inhibition of protein synthesis due to HCR), the effect of dithiothreitol and of hemin is independent of this factor and may be mediated by direct interaction with the prorepressor and HCR. Dithioerythritol, the erythro isomer of dithiothreitol, is as effective as dithiothreitol in preventing the formation of HCR, whereas glutathione and beta-mercaptoethanol have little or no effect.

Animals

New manual and automated method for determining activity of creatine kinase isoenzyme MB, by use of dithiothreitol: clinical applications.

The method is based on the selective activating capacity of dithiothreitol on creatine kinase isoenzyme MB, after isoenzyme MM is activated by glutathione. Isolated isoenzymes MM and MB of human and canine origin were assayed individually and in mixtures of known activities. When glutathione was present in the assay medium the activity of each isoenzyme could be measured individually, but glutathione did not activate isoenzyme MB if it was present in a mixture with MM. Dithiothreitol, added to the serum before assay, activated the isoenzyme MB in the mixture. Values for MB activities obtained for isolated isoenzyme MB and for the isoenzyme mixture after dithiothreitol was added averaged 110 and 111 U/liter, respectively (r = 0.998; y = 1.007 x + 0.298; n = 10). In the serum of 40 patients with documented acute transmural myocardial infarction, the mean proportion of isoenzyme MB activity measured in this way was 5.5% (coefficient of variation, 7.7%). Isoenzyme MB activities measured by use of dithiothreitol compared well with those obtained by conventional electrophoresis/spectrophotometry (r = 0.998; y = 1.09x -0.65) and spectrofluorometry (r = 0.996; y = 1.10 x + 0.80). The assay of MB activity by the dithiothreitol method was automated, by use of an Abbott Bichromatic Analyser and a Calbiochem Super-Stat Pack Kit. In 60 isoenzyme MB determinations the manual and automated method correlated well (r = 0.990; y = 1.0x -1.36). The simplicity of isoenzyme MB determination by use of dithiothreitol and its ease of automation allow routine monitoring of the isoenzyme activity in patients with ischemic heart disease.

Animals

Inhibition of RNA-dependent DNA polymerase reaction by 6-(p-hydroxyphenylazo)-uracil: A result of drug induced dithiothreitol oxidation.

6-(P-hydroxyphenylazo)-uracil (HPUra) reduced by dithiothreitol inhibited AMV or RLV virion associated exogenous RNA-dependent DNA polymerase reactions. However, the inhibition was variable from experiment to experiment and was not consistent with the base specificity of HPUra seen for inhibition of gram positive DNA-dependent DNA polymerases. Increasing the concentration of dithiothreitol reversed the inhibition. Furthermore, at non-toxic concentrations, HPUra did not influence the plating efficiency of RLV in tissue culture, as measured by the ability to induce foci on sarcoma virus positive-leukemia virus negative cells. Oxidation of dithiothreitol in the presence or absence of HPUra was followed spectrophotometrically under enzyme conditions. HPUra catalyzed the oxidation of dithiothreitol under these conditions. Since dithiothreitol is required for optimum reaction rates, as well as complete disruption of virus in some polymerase assay systems, the oxidation of dithiothreitol in the presence of HPUra is sufficient to explain the inhibition seen.

Animals

Reaction of rhodanese with dithiothreitol.

The reaction between bovine rhodanese (thiosulfate:cyanide sulfurtransferase, EC 2.8.1.1) and reduced dithiothreitol has been studied. This reagent, in the absence of thiosulfate, reduces the amount of sulfur carried by rhodanese with formation of sulfide and oxidized dithiothreitol: E-S-SH + reduced dithiothreitol replaced by E-SH + HS- + oxidized dithiothreitol, (E = enzyme). An inactivation was observed at high dithiothreitol/enzyme ratios or at very low enzyme concentrations. The inactivation was not observed in the presence of thiosulfate and can be reversed by cyanide or thiosulfate. A thiosulfate reduction activity of rhodanese was also found using dithiothreitol as reductant.

Animals

Effect of dithiothreitol of the reaction of renin and angiotensinogen.

Effects of several sulfhydryl reagents on the reaction of renin and angiotensinogen were investigated by measuring the production of angiotensin I. Renin and angiotensinogen were prepared from the kidneys of dogs and from plasma of nephrectomized dogs, respectively. The amount of angiotensin I generated was increased with application of dithiothreitol, dithioerythritol and 2,3-mercapto-1-propanol. The greatest enhancement of the generation of angiotensin I was observed with dithiothreitol. Dithiothreitol had no influence on renin activity, on radioimmunoassay for angiotensin I and the recovery of synthetic angiotensin I from the incubation medium. When heterologous angiotensinogen was used, a great enhancement of generation of angiotensin I was observed. Dithiothreitol did not accelerate the reaction following replacement of the natural substrate, angiotensinogen, with the synthetic tetradecapeptide as substrate. It is postulated that dithiothreitol augments angiotensin I generation by acting on the angiotensinogen and not on the renin.

Angiotensinogen

Effect of dithiothreitol on the catalytic activity, quaternary structure and sulfonamide-binding properties of an extracellular carbonic anhydrase from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

Extracellular carbonic anhydrase from the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is an oligomeric protein containing subunits of 36 and 4 kDa which are joined by disulfide bonds to form higher molecular mass oligomers. In this study, the effect of dithiothreitol on some properties of the enzyme were examined. Dithiothreitol caused a 40% activation of the catalytic activity of the enzyme at low concentrations (0.1 mM), but an inactivation of about 85% of the catalytic activity at high (50 mM) concentrations. Chemical cross-linking of the enzyme with dimethyl suberimidate revealed the existence of oligomers containing up to three large subunits and at least two small subunits. Cross-linking analysis of dithiothreitol-treated carbonic anhydrase revealed that 0.1 mM dithiothreitol had no effect on the subunit composition of the enzyme, but 10 or 50 mM caused subunit dissociation, including the apparent complete dissociation of the small subunits from the large subunits. There was a characteristic enhancement of dansylamide fluorescence when this fluorescent sulfonamide bound carbonic anhydrase and the fluorescence enhancement was retained following the dithiothreitol-induced dissociation of the enzyme. These results indicate that disulfide bonds are essential for maintenance of the oligomeric structure of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii carbonic anhydrase, and that the small subunit may be necessary for enhancing catalysis, but not for the binding of sulfonamides to the enzyme.

Carbonic Anhydrases

Modification of cardiovascular responses to histamine by dithiothreitol.

1 Histamine produced dose-dependent contractile responses on both isolated perfused ear arteries and aortic strips of the rabbit. These responses were blocked by mepyramine and potentiated by both metiamide and dithiothreitol. 2 In the presence of maximum potentiation by metiamide, dithiothreitol still potentiated the contractile response to histamine of both preparations. 3 In the presence of mepyramine, histamine produced dose-dependent reductions in the contractile response to noradrenaline. This vasodilator action of histamine was abolished by metiamide but was unaffected by dithiothreitol. 4 The vasodilator action of histamine on the human isolated perfused temporal artery and the positive inotropic effect of histamine on the isolated spontaneously beating atria of the rabbit were blocked by metiamide but unaffected by dithiothreitol. 5 It is concluded that the rabbit aorta, like the ear artery, contains both H1 and H2 histamine receptors and that dithiothreitol potentiates cardiovascular responses mediated by H1-receptors but not by H2-receptors.

Animals

Increased dithiothreitol-insensitive, type 2 angiotensin II receptors in selected brain areas of young rats.

1. Angiotensin II receptors have been studied by quantitative autoradiography in selected brain areas of young (2-week-old) and adult (8-week-old) rats. 2. In young rats, angiotensin II receptors were present in brain areas which did not express receptors in the adult brain, such as thalamic nuclei, cortical areas, and the cerebellum. 3. Young rats had more angiotensin II receptors in the subfornical organ than adult rats. In the inferior olive, the number of angiotensin receptors in young animals was 10 times higher than that in adult rats. Angiotensin II binding in the inferior olive was insensitive to incubation in the presence of dithiothreitol. 4. Conversely, the number of angiotensin II receptors in the nucleus of the solitary tract was lower in young rats compared to adults. Incubation in the presence of dithiothreitol resulted in a more than 90% inhibition of angiotensin II binding in the nucleus of the solitary tract. 5. Our results indicate the presence of two types of angiotensin II receptor in brain, one sensitive (type 1) and one insensitive (type 2) to the reducing agent dithiothreitol. 6. The expression of type 2 angiotensin II receptors, insensitive to dithiothreitol, is more marked in young rats, indicating a role for this type of angiotensin receptors in brain development.

Age Factors

Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase of Scenedesmus obliquus. Effects of dithiothreitol and nucleotide on coenzyme specificity.

NADH-dependent glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.--) of the photosynthetic alga Scenedesmus obliquus is converted to an NADPH specific form by incubation with dithiothreitol. The change in nucleotide specificity is accompanied by a reduction in the molecular weight of the enzyme from 550 000 to 140 000. Prolonged incubation with dithiothreitol results in the further dissociation of the enzyme to an inactive 70 000 dalton species. The 140 000 dalton, NADPH-specific enzyme is stabilized against dissociation and inactivation by the presence of NAD(H) or NADP(H). Optimum stimulation of NADPH-dependent glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity is achieved on incubation of the NADH-specific enzyme with dithiothreitol and NADPH, or dithiothreitol and a 1,3-diphosphoglycerate generating system. The relevance of these observations to in vivo light-induced changes in the nucleotide specificity of the enzyme is discussed.

Cyanobacteria

Inhibition by EDTA and enhancement by divalent cations or polyamines of the dithiothreitol-induced activation of adenylate cyclase in the cellular slime mold, Dictyostelium discoideum.

Binding of cAMP to cell surface receptors evokes the transient activation of of adenylate cyclase in Dictyostelium discoideum. Dithiothreitol is also known as an activator of this enzyme. We found that the dithiothreitol-induced activation was specifically enhanced by extracellular polyamines or divalent cations. Furthermore, EDTA, a chelating agent of divalent cations, completely inhibited the dithiothreitol-induced activation of adenylate cyclase while EDTA did not inhibit the cAMP-induced activation. The inhibition was nullified by addition of polyamines or divalent cations. These results suggest that extracellular polyamines and divalent cations play a specific role in the dithiothreitol-induced activation of adenylate cyclase.

Adenylyl Cyclases

Inactivation of purified phenylalanine hydroxylase by dithiothreitol.

Purified rat liver phenylalanine hydroxylase is inactivated in vitro by ascorbate and thiol compounds, dithiothreitol being the most effective inhibitor, with a second order rate constant for the inactivation of 0.066 +/- 0.002 mM-1.min-1 at 20 degrees C and pH 7.2. Anaerobic conditions and catalase protected the enzyme from inactivation by dithiothreitol. This suggests that hydrogen peroxide, produced by oxidation of the thiol, is involved in the inactivation. The substrate, L-phenylalanine, also partially protected the enzyme from this inactivation. It is shown that incubation of the enzyme with dithiothreitol at aerobic conditions, followed by gel filtration, causes the release of iron from the active site. The inactivation by dithiothreitol was reversed by incubation of the iron-depleted enzyme with Fe(II).

Anaerobiosis

Thioredoxin catalyzes the reduction of insulin disulfides by dithiothreitol and dihydrolipoamide.

Thioredoxin from Escherichia coli was shown to catalyze the reduction of insulin disulfides by dithiothreitol. A quantitative assay was developed which measures the rate of insulin reduction spectrophotometrically at 650 nm as turbidity formation from the precipitation of the free insulin B chain. Thioredoxin, at 5 microM concentration, accelerated the reaction between 0.130 mM insulin and 1.0 mM dithiothreitol at pH 7 around 20-fold. The pH optimum of the reaction was 7.5. Thioredoxins from E. coli and calf liver showed similar specific activities. Stopped flow fluorescence measurements of the rate of reduction of thioredoxin-S2 by dithiothreitol showed a second order rate constant of 1647 M-1 s-1 at pH 7.2. This is between 10(2) to 10(3) times larger than the reaction between insulin or linear model disulfides and dithiothreitol. It is consistent with a ping-pong mechanism of thioredoxin catalysis since reduced thioredoxin is known to react very fast with insulin. Thioredoxin also catalyzed lipoamide-dependent reduction of the insulin disulfides in a coupled system with NADH, lipoamide, and lipoamide dehydrogenase. The fast spontaneous reaction between dihydrolipoamide and thioredoxin-S2 provides a mechanism for NADH or pyruvate-dependent disulfide reduction. The implication of the dithiol-disulfide oxidoreductase activity of thioredoxin for the regulation of enzyme activities by thiol oxidation-reduction control is discussed.

Bacterial Proteins

Effect of dithiothreitol on meiotic maturation of mouse oocytes in vitro: dependence of the effect on N6,O2'-dibutyryl Adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate.

The inhibitory effect of dithiothreitol on meiotic maturation of mouse oocytes in vitro is a function of the intracellular dibutyryl cyclic AMP concentration. Inhibition of nuclear (germinal vesicle) breakdown by dibutyryl cyclic AMP is reversed upon transfer of oocytes to plain culture medium, whereas, transfer to medium containing dithiothreitol results in continued inhibition. Dithiothreitol significantly enhances the effectiveness of dibutyryl cyclic AMP as an inhibitor of meiotic maturation. These results suggest that the reported effect of sulfhydryl reducing agents on membrane dissolution and reconstitution, in both meiotic and mitotic cells, may be attributed to their influence on intracelular levels of cyclic AMP.

Animals

The AT2 subtype of the angiotensin II receptors has differential sensitivity to dithiothreitol in specific brain nuclei of young rats.

We studied the effect of the sulfhydryl reducing agent dithiothreitol on the binding of the angiotensin II agonist [125I][Sar1]-angiotensin II to AT2 receptors in selected brain areas of young (2-week-old) rats. In the inferior olive and the hypoglossal nucleus, angiotensin II binding to AT2 receptors was insensitive to 5 mM dithiothreitol. Conversely, in the ventral and mediodorsal thalamic, medial geniculate, and oculomotor nuclei, the superior colliculus and the cerebellar cortex, incubation with 5 mM dithiothreitol significantly decreased angiotensin II binding to AT2 receptors to about 40% of control. These data suggest that brain AT2 receptors are heterogeneous with respect to their sensitivity to sulfhydryl reducing agents.

Angiotensin II

The repair, protection and sensitization of papain with respect to inactivation by H2O2 and OH: effects of dithiothreitol, penicillamine, cystine and penicillamine disulphide.

While dithiothreitol repairs the peroxide-produced sulphenic acid derivative of papain in a fast reaction involving only one dithiothreitol molecule, penicillamine reacts with it to form papainCys25SSPen. Disulphide is also formed in the absence of peroxide (see article) by reactions of papainCys25S- AND PenS- radicals derived from -OH reactions in penicillamine-papain mixtures. A similar formation of papainCys25SSCys occurs in mixtures of cysteine and papain. However, unlike papainCys25SSCys, papainCys25SSPen cannot easily be restored to the active form of papain by the exchange reaction with CysSH, and this may have significance for an understanding of the sensitizing action of penicillamine observed in some in vivo systems. Under the action of OH radicals dithiothreitol has less of a tendency to form mixed disulphides and is more effective in repairing papain-OH intermediates than either cysteine or penicillamine. Due to secondary reactions of RSOH and other oxidized species the disulphides of cysteine and penicillamine are less effective than the sulphydryls in protecting papain against inactivation by -OH.

Cystine

[Action of dithiothreitol on protein pattern and phosphorylation in nuclear matrix preparations isolated from the rat liver and Zajdela's hepatoma].

After rat liver nuclei had been treated with 10 mM dithiothreitol nuclear matrix contained 40 per cent less protein than without treatment. Protein composition did not change qualitatively. The protein with a molecular weight of 35 kD was not phosphorylated in the treated samples. After Zajdela hepatoma nuclei had been treated in the same way, nuclear-matrix contained 25% less protein. High molecular weight proteins (140, 150 and 220 kD) were solubilized by media containing dithiothreitol. After dithiothreitol treatment phosphatase and protein-phosphatase activities reduced dramatically both in rat liver and Zajdela hepatoma nuclear matrices.

Animals

Pharmacological differentiation of angiotensin effects in the rabbit isolated vas deferens with dithiothreitol and pertussis toxin.

Angiotensin II inhibits nonadrenergic (purinergic) neurotransmission in the vas deferens and potentiates adrenergic neurotransmission and prostaglandin (PG)E synthesis. Other angiotensin responses are sensitive to either dithiothreitol or pertussis toxin. The present study tested the hypothesis that dithiothreitol or pertussis toxin selectively depress angiotensin responses in the vas deferens. The dithiothreitol (10 mM) eliminated the potentiation of both adrenergic neurotransmission and PGE synthesis but did not alter the depression of purinergic neurotransmission. In contrast, pertussis toxin (100 ng/ml for 3 hr) eliminated the depression of purinergic neurotransmission but had no effect on adrenergic neurotransmission or PGE synthetic responses to angiotensin II. The results are consistent with the existence of at least two transduction pathways for angiotensin II, one enhancing adrenergic neurotransmission and PGE synthesis and the other depressing purinergic neurotransmission. The results indicate that the vas deferens is a useful preparation in defining selective actions of angiotensin receptor agonists or antagonists.

Angiotensin II