Absence Of Dithionite Research Articles

Anoxic decrease in potassium outward currents of hippocampal cultured neurons in absence and presence of dithionite

The effect of brief anoxia on voltage dependent K +-currents of hippocampal cultured neurons was studied. The oxygen scavenger dithionite (hydrosulphite) was previously used for creating zero oxygen pressure. However, dithionite consumes O 2 in parallel with generation of superoxide radicals and is a strongly reducing agent. In this study anoxia was produced by perfusion of the neurons with a solution bubbled with nitrogen for 1 h using a chamber with an argon layer isolating the anoxic bath flow from atmospheric oxygen in presence and absence of dithionite. Oxygen partial pressure of dithionite-free solution was determined by oxygen dependent quenching of the phosphorescence of Pd-coproporphyrin to be 0.15±0.02 Torr (values are given as mean±S.D., n=6). Slow ( I K)- and fast ( I A)-inactivating K +-currents were measured with the patch clamp technique in the whole cell configuration. Exposure of the neurons to anoxia reversibly decreased the amplitude of I K at a test pulse of 0 mV to 77±12% ( n=7) in absence and to 83±7% ( n=6) in presence of 2 mM dithionite; the amplitude of I A decreased to 78±11% in absence and to 82±9% in presence of 2 mM dithionite. Voltage dependence of activation and inactivation shifted 5 min after exposure to anoxia reversibly by about 6 mV in depolarizing direction. The decay times of inactivation were insensitive to anoxia. Dithionite had no significant effects on K +-currents. In 15 of 21 neurons not employed for analysis on K +-currents, a reversible increase in holding current under dithionite was observed. In absence of dithionite in 4 of 19 neurons the holding current reversibly increased during anoxia. Although dithionite does not affect K +-currents, changes in holding current show that the dithionite may affect neurons independently of oxygen deprivation.

Nucleotide binding by the nitrogenase Fe protein: a 31P NMR study of ADP and ATP interactions with the Fe protein of Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Investigation of the interaction of MgADP- and MgATP2- with the Fe protein of Klebsiella pneumoniae nitrogenase by 31P NMR showed that the adenine nucleotides are reversibly bound in slow exchange with free nucleotides. Dissociation of the MgADP--Fe protein complex was slow enough to enable its isolation by gel filtration, thus permitting the assignment of resonances to bound nucleotides. Spectra of ADP bound to Kp2 were similar to spectra of ADP bound to the myosin motor domain. Oxidative inactivation of a Kp2-MgADP- complex with excess ferricyanide ion eliminated exchange between bound and free ADP, indicating that the intact iron sulphur cluster, located 20 A from the binding sites, is required for the reversible binding of MgADP-. A change in conformation on controlled oxidation of Kp2 with indigocarmine increased the chemical shift of the beta phosphate resonance of bound MgADP-. Both oxidized and reduced conformers were observed transiently in the absence of dithionite. The 31P resonances of both the beta and gamma phosphates of bound MgATP2- indicated major changes in environment and labilization of both groups on binding to the Fe protein. Highly purified Kp2 slowly hydrolysed ATP, resulting in mixtures of bound nucleotides. Partial occupation of Kp2 MgATP2--binding sites (N=1.9+/-0.2, Kd=145 microM) in concentrated protein solutions was demonstrated by flow dialysis. Scatchard plots of data for bound and free ligand obtained after equilibration with Kp2 were linear and no co-operative interactions were detected. We conclude that MgADP- stabilizes the oxidized Fe protein conformer and this conformation in turn triggers the dissociation of the Fe protein from the MoFe protein in the rate-limiting step of the overall process of dinitrogen reduction.

Bradhyrhizobium japonicum hydrogen-ubiquinone oxidoreductase activity: quinone specificity, inhibition by quinone analogs, and evidence for separate sites of electron acceptor reactivity

The purified H 2-uptake hydrogenase of Bradyrhizobium japonicum, containing no cytochrome b, catalyzed efficient H 2-ubiquinone oxidoreductase activity. Hydrogen-oxidizing membranes also catalyzed H 2-ubiquinone oxidoreductase activity, and the site of ubiquinone reduction was localized to the H 2-quinone oxidoreductase complex based on comparative antimycin A and HQNO titrations of both H 2-ubiquinone-1 oxidoreductase and ubiquinol-1 oxidase activities. A variety of quinones could function as electron acceptors of both pure or membrane-bound hydrogenase, including ubiquinone-0 Q 0), ubiquinone-1 (Q 1), duroquinone and menadione, indicating relatively loose substrate specificity with regard to the quinone head group. Both the redox potential and the quinone structure determined the efficiency of hydrogenase turnover. Among short-chain ubiquinones, the isoprenoid chain length had a profound affect on K m, with each additional isoprenoid unit resulting in the K m of the membrane-bound enzyme to decrease more than an order of magnitude. For pure enzyme, the K m values for Q 0, Q 1 and Q 2 were 1.97 mM, 68.8 μM and 3.1 μM, respectively. V max was also influenced by the substrate isoprenoid chain length for the pure enzyme. The inhibition patterns of H 2-dependent Q 1 versus MB reduction by the quinone analogs (2- n-heptyl-4-hydroxyquinoline N-oxide and Antimycin A) were significantly different, and clear differences in pH optima for the two activities were observed. In addition, the two hydrogen-dependent electron acceptor activities (Q 1 and MB) exhibited different time-dependent inactivation patterns by the chemical modification reagent diazobenzene sulfonate. Ubiquinone and MB therefore react by different mechanisms (perhaps at different sites) within the hydrogenase complex in situ. The inhibition pattern of hydrogen-ubiquinone oxidoreductase activity by antimycin A was clearly different than antimycin A inhibition of ubiquinol oxidation at the bc 1 complex. This is, to our knowledge, the first report of antimycin A inhibition of a hydrogenase complex, and also of a quinone reducing site of a primary dehydrogenase. When pure hydrogenase is assayed in the absence of dithionite, a delay (lag phase) is observed prior to attainment of full activity. The length of this lag period (in minutes) was inversely dependent on ubiquinone concentration, and was greatly reduced (but not eliminated) at saturating ubiquinone levels. These effects were obtained with both Q 1 and MB as electron acceptor, and the lag phases with Q 1 were significantly longer than with MB. Electron acceptor binding to hydrogenase is thus required for reductive activation of hydrogenase during turnover.

Na-Dithionite Promotes Photosynthetic Sulfide Utilization by the Cyanobacterium Oscillatoria limnetica

The light- and sulfide-dependent induction process leading to photosystem I-mediated sulfide utilization by Oscillatoria limnetica, for either H(2) evolution or CO(2) photoassimilation, was studied. The identical dependence on pH of the lag length, the inhibition of leucine incorporation and final H(2)S concentration imply that the latter exerts a deleterious effect on nonadapted cells.Na-dithionite (Na(2)S(2)O(4)), Na-sulfite (Na(2)SO(3)), or ethanol cannot serve as photosynthetic electron donors. However, when these compounds were added to the sulfide-containing system, the need for induction was eliminated. At pH 6.9, in the presence of 3.5 millimolar sulfide, these substances (at concentrations of 10 millimolar, 5 millimolar, or 0.4 molar, respectively) completely abolished the delay preceding sulfide-dependent H(2) evolution. It is suggested that all three compounds expose a site capable of directly accepting sulfide electrons.Only dithionite could adapt the cells to sulfide utilization on its own. Sulfite or ethanol acted only in the presence of sulfide. It is implied that this specific activity of dithionite is related to its characteristic low redox potential.Sulfide-dependent H(2) evolution was insensitive to 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea, but was inhibited by the plastoquinone antagonist 2,5-dibromo-3-methyl-6-isopropyl-p-benzoquinone, in the presence as well as in the absence of dithionite. In both cases, therefore, the plastoquinone was implied in the electron transport from sulfide.

Tetramer-dimer dissociation of carboxyhemoglobin in the absence of dithionite

The generally accepted value for the tetramer-dimer dissociation constant KL4,2 of carboxyhemoglobin in pH 7.0 phosphate buffer lies in the range 1--2 micrometers. Previous determinations of the quantity have generally involved addition of dithionite to samples to exclude oxygen. We report flash photolysis experiments on carboxyhemoglobin in the absence of dithionite which suggest that KL4,2 is 0.2 +/- 0.05 micrometer. Addition of dithionite to our samples resulted in an order of magnitude increase in KL4,2 in good agreement with previously published results. The mechanism of this increase in dissociation has not been determined with certainty. However, impurities, possibly metal ions, are required in addition to dithionite to produce this effect. Dithionite did not increase KL4,2 for phosphate buffer solutions treated with Chelex 100 analytical grade chelating resin. Addition of bovine serum albumin to untreated buffer solutions before addition of dithionite was found to prevent increased dissociation. The sulfhydryl-reducing agents dithiothreitol and beta-mercaptoethanol were found to protect against the effect of dithionite and to reverse its effect on KL4,2 if they were added after the dithionite. The interaction of the unknown impurities with dithionite to produce increased values of KL4,2 could be mimicked by addition of CU2+ ions in concentrations of less than 1 micrometer to buffer treated with Chelex 100 resin.

Sub-microsecond chlorophyll A delayed fluorescence from Photosystem I Magnetic field-induced increase of the emission yield

(1) In photosystem I (PS I) particles in the presence of dithionite and intense background illumination at 290 K, an external magnetic field (0–0.22 T) induced an increase, ΔF, of the low chlorophyll a emission yield, F ( ΔF F ⋍ 1–1.5% ). Half the effect was obtained at about 35–60 mT and saturation occurred for magnetic fields higher than about 0.15 T. In the absence of dithionite, no field-induced increase was observed. Cooling to 77 K decreased ΔF at 685 nm, but not at 735 nm, to zero. Measuring the emission spectra of F and ΔF, using continuous excitation light, at 82, 167 and 278 K indicated that the spectra of F and ΔF have about the same maximum at about 730, 725 and 700 nm, respectively. However, the spectra of ΔF show more long-wavelength emission than the corresponding spectra of F. (2) Only in the presence of dithionite and with (or after) background illumination, was a luminescence (delayed fluorescence) component observed at 735 nm, after a 15 ns laser flash (530 nm), that decayed in about 0.1 μs at room temperature and in approx. 0.2 μs at 77 K. A magnetic field of 0.22 T caused an appreciable increase in luminescence intensity after 250 ns, probably mainly caused by an increase in decay time. The emission spectra of the magnetic field-induced increase of luminescence, ΔL, at 82, 167 and 278 K coincided within experimental error with those of ΔF mentioned above. The temperature dependence of ΔF and ΔL was found to be nearly the same, both at 685 and at 735 nm. (3) Analogously to the proposal concerning the 0.15 μs luminescence in photosystem II (Sonneveld, A., Duysens, L.N.M. and Moerdijk, A. (1980) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 77, 5889–5893), we propose that recombination of the oxidized primary donor P-700 + and the reduced acceptor A −, probably A − 1, of PS I causes the observed fast luminescence. The effect of an external magnetic field on this emission may be explained by the radical pair mechanism. The field-induced increase of the 0.1–0.2 μs luminescence seems to be at least in large part responsible for the observed increase of the total (prompt + delayed) emission measured during continuous illumination in the presence of a magnetic field.

Fluorescence emission spectra of cells and subcellular preparations of a green photosynthetic bacterium. Effects of dithionite on the intensity of the emission bands

Fluorescence emission spectra were measured of intact cells and subcellular preparations of the green photosynthetic bacterium Prosthecochloris aestuarii in the presence and in the absence of dithionite. A 3–5-fold increase in bacteriochlorophyll a fluorescence at 816 nm occurred upon addition of dithionite in a membrane vesicle preparation (Complex I), in a photochemically active pigment-protein complex and in a bacteriochlorophyll a protein complex free from reaction centers. The pigment-protein complex showed a relatively strong long-wave emission band (835 nm) of bacteriochlorophyll a, which was preferentially excited by light absorbed at 670 nm and was not stimulated by dithionite. With Complex I, which contains some bacteriochlorophyll c in addition to bacteriochlorophyll a, a 3–4-fold stimulation of bacteriochlorophyll c emission was also observed. Emission bands at shorter wavelengths, probably due to artefacts, were quenched by dithionite. With intact cells, the effect of dithionite was smaller, and consisted mainly of an increase of bacteriochlorophyll a emission. The results indicate that the strong increase in the yield of bacteriochlorophyll emission that occurred upon generating reducing conditions is, at least mainly, due to a direct effect on the light-harvesting systems, and does not involve the reaction center as had been earlier postulated.

Studies on plant bile pigments, VII. Preparation and characterization of phycobiliproteins with chromophores chemically modified by reduction.

The reversible denaturation and reduction with dithionite has been studied for the phycobiliproteins, C-phycocyanin (1) and allophycocyanin (2) from Spirulina platensis, and C-phycoerythrin (4) from Fremyella diplosiphon (both cyanobacteria). By treatment with sodium dithionite, the chromophores are selectively reduced at the central (C-10) methine bridge, producing pigments with bilirubinoid (lambda max = 418 nm from 1 and 2), and vinylpyrroloc (lambda max= 300 nm from 4) chromophores. The extent of reduction is dependent on the state of the protein. The chromophores of denatured biliproteins are completely reduced at 0.5 mM dithionite. In the native pigments, dithionite concentrations up to 0.5 mM lead only to partial reduction, thus forming products containing both reduced and oxidized chromophores (e.g. "phycocyanorubins" from 1 and 2). The reduction is non-statistical with respect to the different chromophores present in 1 and 4, the chromophores absorbing at shorter wavelengths being preferentially reduced. Renaturation of the proteins containing reduced chromophores is accompanied by their reoxidation. This oxidation is complete in the absence of dithionite or at concentrations up to 0.5 mM. At higher dithionite concentrations, the reoxidation is incomplete, and the products are spectroscopically identical to those obtained by reduction of the native pigments at similar concentrations of reductant. The results are interpreted by a model in which the protein is "transparent" to the reducing agent, dithionite. The difference in the extent of reduction of the native and denatured pigments can only be due to thermodynamic (viz. stability) differences in the susceptibility of the chromophores to reduction. Specifically, the (extended) chromophore present in the native pigment is much more difficult to reduce than the chromophore (present in a cyclic conformation) in the denatured pigment. The energetics of the process of refolding both the protein and the chromophores are discussed.

High resolution proton nuclear magnetic resonance studies of interaction between deoxyhaemoglobin and small molecules. Dithionite and diphosphoglycerate

90 MHz proton n.m.r. spectra have been measured on solutions of deoxyhaemoglobin (Hb) in D2O in the presence and absence of dithionite (DT) and D-2,3-diphosphoglycerate (DPG) ions.Application of deconvolution and interpolative baseline correction software has enabled the pH dependence of the histidine C2 proton chemical shifts to be observed without the necessity of using high fields or elaborate pulse sequences. The n.m.r. data are interpreted in terms of a strong fast exchange interaction with DPG and a much weaker one, at the same site, for DT.Histidines β2 and β143 at the DPG binding site have been assigned to peaks in the proton n.m.r. spectrum. From the chemical shift behaviour of a selected resonance at different DPG concentrations, it has been shown that DPG and Hb bind with a 1:1 stoichiometry. The measured affinity constant is (5.1 ± 0.4)× 104 mol–1 and is independent of the ionised species of DPG present in the pH range 7.1–7.3.

Kinetics of ligand binding to ferrous heme groups of hemoglobin M Saskatoon

Hemoglobin M Saskatoon ( α 2 A β 2 63 tyr ) has two α chains in the normal ferrous state, while its two β chains are in the ferric state. The reaction of hemoglobin M Saskatoon with carbon monoxide at pH 7 and 20 °C in the presence and absence of dithionite was studied. In the absence of dithionite only the α chains react and the combination rate is slow and similar to that of normal deoxyhemoglobin. After the addition of dithionite the rate of reaction is greatly increased initially and then decreases to a rate similar to that seen in the absence of dithionite. The dissociation of oxygen from hemoglobin M Saskatoon at pH 7 and 20 °C was found for the α subunits to be similar to that seen for normal oxyhemoglobin. This similarity in the kinetic properties of normal hemoglobin and the α subunits of hemoglobin M Saskatoon in both ligand combination and dissociation reactions indicates that the α subunits of hemoglobin M Saskatoon undergo a structural transition from a low to high affinity form on liganding. Since the β subunits react rapidly with carbon monoxide even when the α subunits are unliganded, it appears that the ligand binding sites of the β chains are uncoupled from the state of liganding of the α subunits.

Pyruvate and nitrogenase activity in cell-free extracts of the blue-green alga [formula omitted

When extracts of Anabaena cylindrica are prepared in the absence of dithionite, they catalyze pyruvate-dependent acetylene reduction, a reaction not observable in assays containing dithionite. Ferredoxin and coenzyme-A, but not NADP and ferredoxin-NADP reductase, are required for maximal pyruvate-dependent activity. These acetylene-reducing extracts do not exhibit NADP-pyruvate dehydrogenase activity. However, pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase is present at levels of activity sufficient to support the in vitro rate of pyruvate-supported acetylene reduction. These in vitro data support earlier in vivo evidence that pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase transfers electrons from pyruvate to nitrogenase in A. cylindrica .