Carbamoyl Phosphate Synthetase Activity Research Articles

Hepatic enzymes of glutamine and ureagenesis in metabolic acidosis.

The activities of key glutamine and urea cycle enzymes were assayed in liver homogenates from control and chronically acidotic rats and compared with citrulline and urea productions by isolated mitochondria and intact liver slices, respectively. Glutamine-dependent urea and citrulline synthesis were increased significantly in isolated mitochondria and in liver slices; the activities of carbamoyl phosphate synthetase and arginase were unchanged and increased, respectively. Glutamine was not a precursor in the carbamoyl phosphate synthetase system, suggesting that the glutamine effect is an indirect one and that glutamine requires prior hydrolysis. Increased mitochondrial citrulline synthesis was associated with enhanced oxygen consumption, suggesting glutamine acts both as a nitrogen and fuel source. Hepatic phosphate-dependent glutaminase was elevated by chronic acidosis. The results indicate that the acidosis-induced reduction in ureagenesis and reversal from glutamine uptake to release observed in vivo are not reflections of corresponding changes in the hepatic enzyme content. Rather, when available, glutamine readily supports ureagenesis, suggesting a close coupling of hepatic glutaminase flux with citrulline synthesis.

Inhibition of ureogenesis in isolated rat liver cells by a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (butibufen)

The effect of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (butibufen) on ureogenesis in isolated rat hepatocytes has been studied. Butibufen at 0.4 mM, and particularly at 2 mM, strongly inhibited urea synthesis. The drug at these concentrations also inhibited markedly carbomoylphosphate synthetase activity. In addition, 2 mM butibufen lowered ATP concentrations of the cells and enhanced oxygen consumption in isolated liver mitochondria. The results suggest that the inhibition by 0.4 mM butibufen on carbamoylphosphate synthetase activity can account for the entire inhibition of ureogenesis, whereas the decreased cellular ATP concentration at 2 mM butibufen might be at least partly responsible for low carbamoylphosphate synthesis and thus, for reduced urea production. The decrease in ATP levels probably results from uncoupling effects of butibufen on oxidative phosphorylation.

Stimulatory effect of arginine on acetylglutamate synthesis in isolated mitochondria of mouse and rat liver.

N-Acetyl-L-glutamate synthetase (EC 2.3.1.1) catalyses the synthesis of N-acetyl-L-glutamate, an allosteric activator of carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase I in the liver of ureotelic animals, and the first enzyme is activated specifically by arginine. We have proposed that arginine can stimulate acetylglutamine synthetase in vivo and thereby increase the mitochondrial content of acetylglutamate. The effects of arginine on acetylglutamate synthesis in isolated mitochondria were investigated in detail in the present work. When rat liver mitochondria were isolated and incubated with [14C]glutamate and unlabelled acetate as substrates, acetyl[14C]glutamate synthesis in the mitochondria was more extensive in the presence than in the absence of L-arginine. There was no significant difference between the specific radioactivities of intramitochondrial [14C]glutamate in the presence and absence of arginine. When rat liver mitochondria were incubated with [14C]acetate and unlabelled glutamate as substrates, arginine also stimulated acetyl[14C]glutamate synthesis in the isolated mitochondria. L-Lysine or L-homoarginine, which does not activate acetylglutamate synthetase, had no effect on acetylglutamate synthesis, in the isolated mitochondria. The arginine concentration giving half-maximal synthesis of acetylglutamate in isolated mitochondria was about 50 microM, which is in the range of physiological concentrations of arginine in the liver. As we previously reported [Kawamoto, Ishida, Mori & Tatibana (1982) Eur. J. Biochem. 123, 637-641], the sensitivity of acetylglutamate synthetase to arginine activation undergoes marked changes after food ingestion. The extent of arginine activation of acetylglutamate synthesis in isolated mitochondria correlated well with the sensitivity of acetylglutamate synthetase extracted from the mitochondria to arginine activation. These data lend further support to the idea that arginine itself activates the mitochondrial synthesis of acetylglutamate.

Control of ureogenesis.

Control of urea synthesis was studied in rat hepatocytes incubated with physiological mixtures of amino acids in which arginine was replaced by equimolar amounts of ornithine. The following observations were made. Intramitochondrial carbamoyl phosphate was always below 0.1 mM. Only when ornithine was absent and when, in addition, the concentration of amino acids was higher than four times their plasma concentration, intramitochondrial carbamoyl phosphate rose up to about 3 mM; under these conditions ammonia accumulated in the medium. The relationship between ornithine-cycle flux and the concentration of the cycle intermediates at varying amino acid concentration indicated that under near-physiological conditions the ornithine-cycle enzymes are far from being saturated with their subsidiaries. Moderate concentrations of norvaline had no effect on the rate of urea synthesis unless the cells were severely depleted of ornithine. Activation of carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase (ammonia) by addition of N-carbamoylglutamate only slightly stimulated urea production at all amino acid concentrations. However, in the presence of the activator the curve relating ornithine-cycle flux to the steady-state ammonia concentration was shifted to lower concentrations of ammonia. The intramitochondrial concentration of carbamoyl phosphate in rat liver in vivo was below 0.1 mM. This value is far below the concentration required for substantial inhibition of carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase. It is concluded that in vivo the function of activity changes in carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase, via the well-documented alterations in the intramitochondrial concentration of N-acetylglutamate, is to buffer the intrahepatic ammonia concentration rather than to affect urea production per se. At constant concentration of ammonia the rate of urea production is entirely controlled by the activity of carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase.

Determination of N-acetyl- l-glutamate using high-performance liquid chromatography

Acetylglutamate in HClO 4 tissue extracts is first separated from glutamate by ion exchange. It is then deacylated with aminoacylase, and the resulting glutamate, after adsorption to and elution from an AG 50 column, is quantitated by a fast-HPLC method using o-phthaldialdehyde precolumn derivatization, separation in a C 18 reverse-phase column, and fluorescence detection. A linear response is obtained up to 2 nmol, the detection limit is 5 pmol, and the method is suitable for assay in 1 mg liver tissue and thus for needle biopsies. When samples were analyzed by this procedure and by earlier procedures based upon detection of glutamate with glutamate dehydrogenase or upon activation of carbamoyl phosphate synthetase the results were similar. The method, which is highly specific, compares favorably in sensitivity, precision, and accuracy with all other published procedures. Using this assay, no acetylglutamate has been found in chicken liver and rat kidney.

The stimulatory effect of alloxan diabetes on citrulline formation in rabbit liver mitochondria

The effect of alloxan diabetes on citrulline formation from NH4Cl and bicarbonate was studied in rabbit liver mitochondria incubated with glutamate or succinate as respiratory substrate, as well as with exogenous ATP in the presence of uncoupler and oligomycin. In contrast to ornithine transcarbamoylase, the activity of carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase (ammonia) was higher in mitochondria from diabetic animals than in those from normal ones. In diabetic rabbits the rates of citrulline synthesis were stimulated under all conditions studied. In contrast, levels of N-acetyglutamate, an activator of carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase (ammonia), were significantly increased only in the presence of glutamate, while the highest rates of citrulline formation occurred in uncoupled mitochondria incubated with exogenous ATP as energy source. Treatment of animals with alloxan resulted in an increase of both the intramitochondiral ATP level and the rate of adenine nucleotide translocation across the mitochondrial membrane. The results indicate that the stimulation of citrulline formation in liver mitochondria of diabetic rabbits is mainly due to an increase in carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase (ammonia) activity and an elevation of content of intramitochondrial ATP, a substrate of this enzyme.

Role of dexamethasone and insulin on the development of the five urea-cycle enzymes in cultured rat foetal hepatocytes.

The activity changes of the urea-cycle enzymes were monitored in cultured foetal hepatocytes after dexamethasone and insulin treatments. Addition of dexamethasone induced the development of carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase, argininosuccinate synthetase, argininosuccinase and arginase activities as soon as day 16.5 of gestation. When insulin was added together with dexamethasone, it markedly inhibited the steroid-induced increase in carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase, argininosuccinate synthetase and argininosuccinase activities.

Hepatic ammonia metabolism in a uricotelic treefrog Phyllomedusa sauvagei.

Glutamine synthetase, a mitochondrial enzyme in liver of uricotelic reptiles and birds, is present in the cytosolic compartment of Phyllomedusa sauvagei liver. The average level is sufficient to account for the rate of uric acid excretion by adult frogs but is far lower than that present in birds and reptiles. Except for lower carbamoylphosphate synthetase activity, the activities of the urea cycle enzymes in P. sauvagei liver are comparable with those in adult ureotelic amphibians. The subcellular distribution of the urea cycle enzymes is much the same as in ureotelic amphibians and mammals with the possible exception of the occurrence of a small percentage of the carbamoylphosphate synthetase and ornithine transacarbamylase activities in the cytosol. In keeping with the subcellular localization of the enzymes, citrulline, and not glutamine, is formed by isolated liver mitochondria. The rapid degradation of glutamine by these mitochondria suggests a high degree of compartmentation of glutamine in the cytosol of P. sauvagei if it is to function as a precursor of uric acid in this compartment.

Organization of a multifunctional protein in pyrimidine biosynthesis. A domain hypersensitive to proteolysis.

When the multifunctional protein that catalyses the first three steps of pyrimidine biosynthesis in hamster cells is treated with staphylococcal V8 proteinase, a single cleavage takes place. The activities of carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase (EC 6.3.5.5), aspartate carbamoyltransferase (EC 2.1.3.2) and dihydro-orotase (EC 3.5.2.3) and the allosteric inhibition by UTP are unaffected. One fragment, of Mr 182000, has the first and third enzyme activities, whereas the other fragment, of Mr 42000, has aspartate carbamoyltransferase activity and an aggregation site. A similar small fragment is observed in protein digested with low concentrations of trypsin. A similar large fragment is seen after digestion with trypsin and as the predominating form of this protein in certain mutants defective in pyrimidine biosynthesis. These results indicate that a region located adjacent to the aspartate carbamoyltransferase domain is hypersensitive to proteinase action in vitro and may also be sensitive to proteolysis in vivo.

Inhibition of ureagenesis by valproate in rat hepatocytes. Role of N-acetylglutamate and acetyl-CoA.

Valproate (0.5-5 mM) strongly inhibited urea synthesis in isolated rat hepatocytes incubated with 10 mM-alanine and 3 mM-ornithine. Valproate at the same concentrations markedly decreased concentrations of N-acetylglutamate, an essential activator of carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase I (EC 6.3.4.16), in parallel with the inhibition of urea synthesis by valproate. This compound also lowered the cellular concentration of acetyl-CoA, a substrate of N-acetylglutamate synthase (EC 2.3.1.1); glutamate, aspartate and citrulline were similarly decreased. Valproate in a dose up to 2 mM did not significantly affect the cellular concentration of ATP and had no direct effect on N-acetylglutamate synthesis, carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase I and ornithine transcarbamoylase (EC 2.1.3.3) activities.

Properties of carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase (ammonia) in rat-liver mitochondria made permeable with toluene.

Some properties of carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase (ammonia) were studied in rat-liver mitochondria made selectively permeable by pretreatment with toluene. The Michaelis constants for NH3, MgATP and HCO-3 were 0.7, 1.2 and 2 mM respectively. N-Acetylglutamate activated the enzyme with a Ka of about 0.1 mM. At saturating concentrations of substrates and effectors the enzyme was inhibited by 50% by carbamoyl phosphate at a concentration of 13 mM. Binding of N-acetylglutamate to carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase required the presence of both free Mg2+ ions and MgATP, and was inhibited by Ca2+ ions and by N-carbamoylglutamate. The known activation of carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase by free Mg2+ is due to an increased affinity of the enzyme for N-acetylglutamate. Binding of N-acetylglutamate to carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase was a slow process: at N-acetylglutamate concentrations below 0.5 mM maximal binding was not completed within 30 min. The rate of binding increased with increasing N-acetylglutamate concentrations. Dissociation of N-acetylglutamate from the enzyme was relatively fast, with a half-time of about 5 min. Under all conditions studied there was a close relationship between carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase activity and the amount of N-acetylglutamate bound to the enzyme. The data are discussed in relation to the control of carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase in the intact hepatocyte.

Metabolic resistance: the protection of enzymes against drugs which are tight-binding inhibitors by the accumulation of substrate.

Blockade of a metabolic pathway by interaction of a drug with a particular 'target enzyme' results in depletion of essential end-products of the pathway and accumulation of intermediates prior to the blockade. Metabolic resistance to a particular drug can arise if the substrate of the inhibited enzyme accumulates to levels sufficiently high to compete effectively with the inhibitor, leading to restoration of full activity of the metabolic pathway after a transitory delay. Such resistance has recently been demonstrated in vitro for the interaction of the tight-binding inhibitor N-phosphonacetyl-L-aspartate (PAcAsp) with the aspartate transcarbamoylase activity of the trifunctional protein which initiates pyrimidine biosynthesis in mammals [Christopherson, R. I. and Jones, M. E. (1980) J. Biol. Chem. 255, 11381-11395]. Carbamoyl phosphate, the product of the carbamoyl phosphate synthetase activity of this trifunctional protein, accumulates to a sufficiently high concentration that the inhibitory effect of PAcAsp is effectively abolished. We have developed a theoretical model for metabolic resistance which quantitatively accounts for these experimental data. This model has been used to simulate the interaction between the following potential or proven anti-cancer drugs and their target enzyme, under conditions similar to those which would occur in vivo: PAcAsp with aspartate transcarbamoylase; various OMP analogues [the 5'-monophosphates of 6-azauridine, pyrazofurin and 1-(beta-D-ribofuranosyl)-barbituric acid] with OMP decarboxylase; 5-fluorodeoxyUMP with thymidylate synthase; methotrexate with dihydrofolate reductase; and deoxycoformycin with adenosine deaminase.

Mitochondrial carbamoyl phosphate synthetase activity in the absence of N-acetyl-L-glutamate. Mechanism of activation by this cofactor.

Rat liver carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase I is shown to have synthetase and ATPase activity in the absence of acetylglutamate. Km values for ATP, Mg2+ and K+ are greatly increased, the Km for HCO-3 is not changed much, and the Km for NH+4 is markedly reduced. Vmax for the synthetase reaction is less than 20% of that of the acetylglutamate-activated enzyme whereas Vmax for the ATPase activity is greater than 40% of that with acetylglutamate. Pulse-chase experiments with H14CO-3 show formation of less "active CO2" (the central intermediate) than with acetylglutamate; ATPase activity is reduced in proportion, but the synthetase activity is much smaller. Binding of one ATP molecule with high affinity (Kd = 20-30 microM) is shown in the absence of acetylglutamate. This appears to be the molecule of ATPB (ATPB provides the phosphoryl group of carbamoyl phosphate). In contrast, the affinity for ATPA (ATPA yields Pi) is much reduced. Initial velocity measurements without acetylglutamate show a time lag before reaching a constant velocity. At 50 microM acetylglutamate the lag is much longer, but at 10 mM acetylglutamate it is shorter. Activation by acetylglutamate requires ATP at concentrations sufficient to occupy the ATPA and the ATPB binding sites. Preincubation with 10 mM acetylglutamate alone shortens the activation time. From these findings we propose an allosteric model for activation of carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase in which there are two active states, R and R . AcGlu. Binding of ATPA is associated with the conversion of T to R. R . AcGlu differs from R in that transfer to carbamate of the gamma-phosphoryl group of ATPB appears to be facilitated.

Fluorescent probe study with 1-anilino-8-naphthalene sulfonate on acetylglutamate activation, ATP binding and conformational changes of the rat liver carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase

The activity and stability of carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase (EC 6.3.4.16) may involve hydrophobic and ionic bonds within the enzyme. The 1-anilino-8-naphthalene sulfonate (ANS) equilibrium binding method with hydrophobic and ionic sites in enzymes, therefore, seemed suitable for the study of the acetylglutamate activation and ATP binding of the enzyme. The enzyme had a high affinity for the dye but low fluorescent yields. The enzyme had 32–88 ANS binding sites, depending on combination with aTP and acetylglutamate, and individual affinity constants for each combination. Despite the large number of binding sites, the acetylglutamate and ATP concentrations for half-maximal fluorescent change (10–40 μM) corresponded to the high-affinity bound ATP (ATP B) and acetylglutamate K d values. In kinetic studies, ANS competed with ATP or acetylglutamate. The extrapolated ANS K i values for ATP or acetylglutamate were both 35 μM. This value agreed with the ANS K d value of the enzyme-ATP conformation, indicating that this was the conformation competed for by ANS. Since ANS did not influence the HCO 3-dependent ATPase, ANS was concluded to compete with the ATP B binding conformation and transitional changes. This study suggests that part of the activator role of acetylglutamate may be to change the tertiary structure of the enzyme to induce hydrophobic sites which are accessible to ANS and possibly at the ATP B site.

Induction of carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase I in reuber hepatoma H-35 by dexamethasone

Reuber hepatoma H-35 was found to retain the activity of carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase I. The content of this enzyme in H-35 grown in Eagle's minimal essential medium was about half that in rat liver. The enzyme from H-35 was the same as that from rat liver in molecular weight estimated by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, specific enzyme activity, kinetic parameters for ATP and N- acetyl- l-glutamate , and immunological crossreactivity. The enzyme in H-35 was induced by dexamethasone (1.4-fold) but not by glucagon or dibutyryl cAMP. Incorporation of [ 35S]methionine into the enzyme indicated that the effect of dexamethasone was due to increased synthesis of the enzyme protein (2.1-fold). By labeling with [ 35S]methionine, the precursor and the mature forms of carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase I were observed in the post-mitochondrial and mitochondrial fractions, respectively. By chasing the labeled cells with unlabeled methionine and cycloheximide, it was observed that the rate of translocation of the precursor into mitochondria is not affected by dexamethasone.

Arginine activation of N-acetylglutamate synthetase in mouse liver : Enhancement of the sensitivity in vivo by parenteral treatment with inhibitors of nucleic acid and protein synthesis

N-Acetyl-L-glutamate sythetase catalyzes the synthesis of N-acetyl-L-glutamate, an allosteric and esential activator of carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase I in the liver of ureotelic animals. The enzyme is activated specifically by arginine. We report here that the sensitivity of the synthetase to activation by arginine increases markedly after intraperitoneal administration to mice of inhibitors of nucleic acid and protein synthesis, including actinomycin D, aurintricarboxylic acid, cycloheximide, emetine and puromycin. The effects of cycloheximide were investigated in detail and an amino acid analysis was made of the homogenate of freeze-clamped livers of control or cycloheximide-treated mice.

Activation of carbamoyl phosphate synthetase by cryoprotectants.

Carbamoyl phosphate synthetase I (E.C.6.3.4.16) from rat liver is activated by a range of cryoprotectants. Their diverse chemical structure and the normal stoichiometry and pattern of positional isotopic exchange for the reaction catalyzed in their presence strongly supports an allosteric mechanism for activation by the physiological activator, acetylglutamate, and by the cryoprotectants. Activation appears not to require any specific group in the cryoprotectants, but different agents activate to different degrees. All cryoprotectants found to activate are good hydrogen-bond formers and have low molecular weight (<1 000 for polyethylene glycols). This suggests that the cryoprotectant must associate with the enzyme to activate. In the presence of acetylglutamate all cryoprotectants tested, irrespective of their capacity to activate, inhibit.

Carbamoylphosphate Synthetase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Carbamoylphosphate synthetase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa is subject to repression by pyrimidines and significant derepression by limitation of arginine or pyrimidines. Carbamoylphosphate synthetase was purified to homogeneity from a derepressed strain of P. aeruginosa. The molecular weight of the enzyme was estimated to be 168 000 by sucrose gradient ultracentrifugation. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate showed that the enzyme is composed of two non-identical subunits with molecular weights of 122 000 and 44 000. Cross-linking the enzyme prior to electrophoresis yielded an additional band corresponding to a molecular weight of 165 000, showing that the enzyme is composed of one of each subunit. The enzyme utilized either glutamine (Km 0.15 mM) or NH3 (Km 17 mM) and requires free Mg2+ for maximal activity with the optimal level between 4 mM and 10 mM. Hill plots of MgATP saturation data yielded coefficients of 1.2 and 1.4 at pH 8.0 and 8.5, respectively. A Hill equation was derived on the assumptions that MgATP binds at the same time to two distinct sub-sites as was shown to be the case for carbamoylphosphate synthetase from Escherichia coli and that these sub-sites are strictly non-interacting. The resulting theoretical Hill coefficients correspond very closely to the experimental coefficients. Carbamoylphosphate synthetase activity was subject to activation by ornithine and N-acetylornithine and feedback inhibition by UMP. Carbamoylphosphate synthetase from P. aeruginosa does not associate under all conditions examined, establishing that self-association does not play a role in regulation of enzyme activity as suggested by other workers for the enzyme from E. coli.

Formula omitted] inhibition of the enzyme complex of pyrimidine biosynthesis

The inhibition of aspartate carbamoyltransferase (ACTase) from rat Novikoff tumor by N-( phosphonacetyl)- L-aspartate (PALA) was studied in a substrate mixture permitting endogenous synthesis of carbamoyl phosphate. Among the components required for carbamoyl phosphate synthetase activity, ATP, Mg(C 2H 3O 2) 2 and KCl interfered with inhibition by PALA (with added carbamoyl phosphate). The inhibition was also decreased when the concentration of partially purified enzyme was increased. In the system dependent on carbamoyl phosphate synthetase, the 50% inhibitory concentration of PALA was lower than that in the same mixture plus 0.2 mM carbamoyl phosphate, but higher than in the usual simple assay mixture with 0.2 mM carbamoyl phosphate.

Activation of carbamoyl phosphate synthetase from Escherichia coli by glycerol

Summary Carbamoyl phosphate synthetase (glutamine-hydrolyzing, E.C.6.3.5.5) from Escherichia coli , which exhibits a sigmoidicity in the ATP saturation profile in the absence of the allosteric activators ornithine and IMP, was markedly activated by glycerol (4–18%) at low ATP concentrations. The polyol reduced the sigmoidicity and the S 0.5 for ATP and increased the apparent affinity of the enzyme for ornithine and IMP. In contrast, inhibition by UMP was not affected. The velocity at saturation of ATP in the presence and absence of effectors and the S 0.5 for ATP in the presence of ornithine were reduced. Activation by glycerol may be due to displacement of allosteric equilibria to an active conformation capable of binding ATP. From a comparison of the actions of glycerol on different types of carbamoyl phosphate synthetases, it is suggested that allosteric activation of these enzymes occurs by a common mechanism.