Phosphodiesterase I Research Articles

Milk-fat globule membranes: chemical composition and phosphoesterase activities during lactation

SummaryThe morphology, protein and glycoprotein composition, amino-acid analysis, phospholipid and carbohydrate contents and 3 phosphoesterase activities of the milk-fat globule membranes were studied in 4 cows during their whole period of lactation. No differences were found in the morphology and the overall chemical composition. However, glycoprotein composition varied with the cow and, for each cow, with the stage of lactation. The differences were more marked for membranes obtained from colostrum. Acid phosphomonoesterase was practically unchanged during the whole period of lactation, while alkaline phosphomonoesterase and phosphodiesterase increased as lactation proceeded.

Bile 5'-nucleotidase in the serum of jaundiced rats

Rat serum 5'-nucleotidase, L-leucyl-β-naphthylamidase and β-glycerophos-phatase activities are increased whilst alkaline p-nitrophenylphosphatase and alkaline phosphodiesterase activities are unchanged or decreased three days after bile duct ligation. Affinity chromatography on an immobilised antiserum raised against highly purified liver plasma membranes showed that although 5'-nucleotidase in normal serum is unrelated to the 5'-nucleotidase of liver plasma membrane, the 5'-nucleotidase of bile and much of the 5'-nucleotidase in the jaundiced serum are closely related to the plasma membrane enzyme. Since bile is rich in 5'-nucleotidase, the changes in level of this enzyme after bile duct ligation are most simply explained by leakage of bile into the blood; changes in the patterns of the other enzymes are shown to be consistent with this explanation. The jaundiced serum was examined by gel exclusion chromatography and flotation in sucrose gradients for the presence of small fragments of plasma membrane as reported in human jaundiced sera, but no such fragments could be detected three days after bile-duct ligation.

Alkaline Phosphatases from Mycobacterium smegmatis

Summary: Mycobacterium smegmatis formed an alkaline phosphomonoesterase (EC 3.1.3.1) and an alkaline phosphodiesterase (EC 3.1.4.1). The former was regulated by inorganic phosphate and was repressed in medium containing a high concentration of phosphate. The synthesis and the function of the alkaline phosphodiesterase were not controlled by inorganic phosphate.

Preparation of plasma-membrane subfractions from isolated rat hepatocytes.

1. Rat livers were dissociated into their constituent cells by perfusion through the portal vein with a medium containing collagenase, and hepatocytes separated from non-parenchymal cells. 2. It is shown that the procedure described by Wisher & Evans [(1975) Biochem. J. 146, 375-388] for preparation of plasma membranes from liver tissue when applied to isolated hepatocytes also yielded subfractions of similar morphology and marker-enzyme distribution. 3. Thus the distribution of alkaline phosphodiesterase, 5'-nucleotidase and the basal and glucagon-stimulated adenylate cyclase among two 'light' vesicular and one 'heavy' junction-containing plasma-membrane subfractions paralleled that reported for tissue-derived plasma-membrane subfractions. 4. Increased recoveries and specific activities of plasma-membrane marker enzymes were obtained when soya-bean trypsin inhibitor was included in the collagenase-containing perfusion media used to dissociate the liver. 5. Polyacrylamide-gel-electrophoretic analysis of the corresponding plasma-membrane subfractions prepared from liver tissue and isolated hepatocytes were generally similar. 6. The results indicate that the functional polarity of the hepatocyte's plasma membrane is retained after tissue dissociation. The damage occurring to plasma-membrane ectoenzymes by the collagenase-perfusion procedure is discussed.

Effects of different bile salts upon the composition and morphology of a liver plasma membrane preparation. Deoxycholate is more membrane damaging than cholate and its conjugates

1. 1. Rat liver plasma membrane preparations were incubated with various bile salts at 0 or 37°C. The bile salts caused the removal of various amounts of proteins, membrane enzymes and phosholipids; the extent and nature of these losses, and the morphological changes which accompanied them, varied with the detergent used. 2. 2. Cholate, taurocholate and glycocholate removed appreciable amounts of protein from the saline-washed membranes, and considerable amounts of both phospholipids and the membrane enzymes, 5-nucleotidase, alkaline phosphatase, alkaline phosphodiesterase 1 and l-leucyl-β-naphtylamidase. These losses were greater at 37 than at 0°C. The material remaining contained membrane-like profiles, many of vesicular form, even when the preparation was almost completely devoid of phospholipids. 3. 3. Deoxycholate, both at 0 and 37°C, removed more protein, membrane enzymes and phospholipids than did cholate and its conjugates. The material remaining was mainly granular and unorganised and the only remaining features were structures resembling the nexus, and occasional desmosomes. 4. 4. Deoxycholate, a dihydroxy bile salt, therefore appears to cause greater perturbation of membrane structure than the trihydroxy bile salt, cholate, and its conjugates. The results may have implications for the effects of bile salts upon the membranes of liver cells during bile salt secretion and the production of bile.

Phosphodiesterases of tobacco cell cultures and the intact plant

Tobacco cells grown in suspension culture contained a higher specific activity of acid phosphodiesterase than tissues of the intact plant. The activity of the cells increased with age. The presence of alkaline phosphodiesterase both in the cultured cells and the intact plant was demonstrated, and the properties were partially characterized.

Location of nucleotide pyrophosphatase and alkaline phosphodiesterase activities on the lymphocyte surface membrane

1. Isolated mouse spleen lymphocytes hydrolysed UDP-galactose added to the medium. Nucleotide pyrophosphatase activity that accounted for this hydrolysis was enriched to a similar extent as alkaline phosphodiesterase and 5'-nucleotidase in a lymphocyte plasma-membrane fraction. 2. The cell surfaces of mouse spleen and thymus lymphocytes were iodinated with 125I by using the lactoperoxidase-catalysis method. Detergent extracts of the cells were mixed with a purified anti-(mouse liver plasma-membrane nucleotide pyrophosphatase) antiserum and the immunoprecipitates analysed by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. Only one major radioactive component, similar in size (apparent mol.wt 110000-130000) to the liver enzyme, was observed. 3. Electrophoresis of an iodinated spleen plasma-membrane fraction indicated peaks of radioactivity, including one of apparent mol.wt 110000-130000. 4. When detergent extracts of spleen lymphocytes were passed through a Sepharose-bead column containing covalently attached anti-(nucleotide pyrophosphatase) antiserum, the nucleotide pyrophosphatase activity was retained by the beads, whereas protein and leucine naphthylamidase activity were eluted. 5. The results indicate that nucleotide pyrophosphatase and alkaline phosphodiesterase activities are due to the location of the same or similar enzymes at the outer aspect of the lymphocyte plasma membrane. Some possible functions of enzymes at this location are discussed.

Plasma-membrane components can be removed from isolated lymphocytes by the bile salts glycocholate and taurocholate without cell lysis

Glycocholate and taurocholate removed from isolated pig lymphocytes a proportion of the cells' complement of 5'-nucleotidase, alkaline phosphatase and alkaline phosphodiesterase I before cell lysis. This may indicate a loss of externally orientated plasma-membrane components.

Evidence for the association of L-asparaginase with cytomembrane components in the guinea pig liver soluble fraction.

Homogenization of guinea pig liver in isotonic sucrose solution followed by the separation of the subcellular fractions by differential centrifugation releases the liver L-asparaginase (L-asparagine amidohydrolase, EC 3.5.1.1) activity into the supernatant fraction. Electron micrographs of the liver L-asparaginase-antibody complexes, precipitated from the clear supernatant phase by addition of L-asparaginase-specific antiserum, show membrane-liek structures and some amorphous material. The attachment of L-asparaginase to the membrane-like structures is indicated by the ferritin-labeled antibody technique. The immunoprecipitates possess low activities of 5'-nucleotidase, alkaline phosphodiesterase I, NADPH cytochrome c reductase, glucose-6-phosphatase, and acid phosphatase. This observation suggests that L-asparaginase found in the liver supernatant fraction is associated with cytomembrane components. Analysis of guinae pig serum L-asparaginase-antibody complexes is polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate gives three distinct protein bands. These bands correspond to heavy and light chains of rabbit immunoglobulins and the L-asparaginase subunits. Analysis of the liver L-asparaginase-antibody complexes by the above procedure shows similar but more diffuse protein bands.

Role of membranes in bile formation. Comparison of the composition of bile and a liver bile-canalicular plasma-membrane subfraction

1. Enzymes, proteins, glycoproteins and lipids of rodent bile were compared with those of a plasma-membrane subfraction originating from the hepatocyte bile-canalicular membrane. 2. Three bile-canalicular glycoprotein enzyme activities were detected in bile. Comparison of the pH optimum and immunoinhibition properties of membrane and bile 5'-nucleotidase activity indicated that they were the same enzyme. Correspondence between membrane and bile alkaline phosphodiesterases also suggested that they were the same enzymes. Activities of Mg2+-stimulated adenosine triphosphatase, a lipid-dependent intrinsic membrane protein, and galactosyltransferase, a Golgi membrane marker, were not detected in bile. 3. Rodent bile contained 15 polypeptide bands that differed radically from those of bile-canalicular membranes. Bands that may correspond in molecular weight to liver plasma-membrane glycoproteins were present at low staining intensities in bile. A major protein of apparent molecular weight 49 500 was present, and albumin was detected by immunodiffusion. 4. The lipid composition of bile and bile-canalicular membrane also differed. Phosphatidylcholine accounted for 82% of rat bile phospholipids, and only trace amounts of phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylserine and sphingomyelin were present. 5. The results indicate that in healthy animals, the bile-canalicular membrane is refractory to the action of bile acids during the secretory process. The presence of only small amounts of bile-canalicular membrane components, especially glycoprotein enzymes located at the outer face of the membrane, suggests that these are released from the membrane by bile acids after secretion of bile into the canalicular spaces.

Enzyme profiles of mammalian bile

The activities of subcellular marker enzymes in bile and liver homogenate from several mammalian species have provided information on the specificity of protein release during bile formation. The presence of significant amounts of the plasma membrane enzymes alkaline phosphodiesterase I and leucyl-β-naphthylamidase in bile, in addition to alkaline phosphatase and 5′-nucleotidase, and the relative absence of intracellular enzymes lends support to the view that bile salt liberation from the hepatocyte is accompanied by a partial solubilization of the plasma (canalicular) membrane without extensive damage to the whole hepatocyte.

Functional polarity of the rat hepatocyte surface membrane. Isolation and characterization of plasma-membrane subfractions from the blood-sinusoidal, bile-Canalicular and contiguous surfaces of the hepatocyte.

1. Six rat liver plasma-membrane subfractions of different density and morphological, enzymic and chemical properties were prepared from homogenates by a combination of differential, rate-zonal and density-gradient centrifugation. They consisted of three vesicular 'light' subfractions of density 1.12-1.13 and three 'heavy' subfractions of density 1.16-1.18 containing membrane strips and intercellular junctions. 2. All six subfractions contained a basal adenylate cyclase activity. One of the 'light' subfractions that showed the highest glucagon-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity was identified as deriving form the blood-sinusoidal face of the hepatocyte. This subfraction, unlike the others, was contaminated by Golgi components, as indicated by its morphological properties and the presence of galactosyl- and sialyl-transferase activities. 3. All the six subfractions showed high activities of the following plasma-membrane marker enzymes: 5'-nucleotidase, alkaline phosphodiesterase (nucleotide pyrophosphatase), alkaline phosphatase, leucine naphthylamidase and Mg2+-activated adenosine triphosphatase. A 'light' subfraction that showed the highest specific activities of all the above marker enzymes, but lacked a glucagon-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity, was identified as deriving from the bile-canalicular face of the hepatocyte. 4. The 'heavy' subfractions, which showed generally the lowest activities of the above plasma-membrane enzyme markers, and were characterized by the presence of desmosomes and gap junctions, were taken to originate from the contiguous faces of the hepatocyte. 5. The protein composition of the six subfractions was generally similar, as shown by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. Differences in the amounts of various protein and glycoprotein bands among the subfractions correlated with their morphology, enzymic composition and sialic acid content. 6. Hormonal and histochemical evidence supporting the identification of a bile-canalicular subfraction, a blood-sinusoidal subfraction and contiguous-face subfractions is discussed.

Externally disposed plasma membrane proteins. I. Enzymatic iodination of mouse L cells.

The enzymatic iodination technique has been utilized in a study of the externally disposed membrane proteins of the mouse L cell. Iodination of cells in suspension results in lactoperoxidase-specific iodide incorporation with no loss of cell viability under the conditions employed, less than 3% lipid labeling, and more than 90% of the labeled species identifiable as monoiodotyrosine. 90% of the incorporated label is localized to the cell surface by electron microscope autoradiography, with 5-10% in the centrosphere region and postulated to represent pinocytic vesicles. Sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gels of solubilized L-cell proteins reveals five to six labeled peaks ranging from 50,000 to 200,000 daltons. Increased resolution by use of gradient slab gels reveals 15-20 radioactive bands. Over 60% of the label resides in approximately nine polypeptides of 80,000 to 150,000 daltons. Various controls indicate that the labeling pattern reflects endogenous membrane proteins, not serum components. The incorporated 125-I, cholesterol, and one plasma membrane enzyme marker, alkaline phosphodiesterase I, are purified in parallel when plasma membranes are isolated from intact, iodinated L cells. The labeled components present in a plasma membrane-rich fraction from iodinated cells are identical to those of the total cell, with a 10- to 20-fold enrichment in specific activity of each radioactive peak in the membrane.

Ionizing Radiation-Induced Release of a Cell Surface Nuclease from Micrococcus radiodurans

Micrococcus radiodurans possesses an exonuclease (orthophosphoric diester phosphohydrolase EC 3.1.4.1) bound to its cell surface. Exposure to ionizing radiation causes release of this activity into the surrounding medium; less than 10% remains cell associated after 400 krad dose (sublethal). This enzyme is not normally excreted. The extent of release is a function of total ionizing radiation dose only, and is independent of dose rate or temperature. This enzyme is not involved in the postirradiation DNA degradation that accompanies repair in this organism. A 5′-nucleotidase also located in the cell envelope is not released under these conditions. Since only a small amount of the total cell protein is released, an initial enzyme purification of about 150-fold could be achieved relative to crude extracts.

Externally disposed plasma membrane proteins. II. Metabolic fate of iodinated polypeptides of mouse L cells.

The fate of the L-cell plasma membrane proteins labeled by enzymatic iodination was studied. The disappearance of label from growing cells exhibits a biphasic behavior, with 5-20% lost rapidly (t1/2 similar to 2 h) and 80-90% lost relatively slowly (t1/2 similar to 25-33 h). The loss is temperature dependent and serum independent, and is accompanied by the appearance of 51% (125-I)monoiodotyrosine (MIT) in the medium by 47 h. A variable amount (1-14%) of acid-insoluble label can be recovered in the medium over 47 h. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel labeling patterns from cells cultured up to 48 h after iodination reveal no change in the relative distribution of radioactivity, indicating similar rates of degradation for most of the labeled membrane proteins. The fate of the labeled membrane proteins was studied at various times after phagocytosis of nondigestible polystyrene particles. Iodinated L cells phagocytose sufficient 1.1 mum latex beads in 60 min to interiorize 15-30% of the total cell surface area. Electron microscope autoradiography confirmed that labeled membrane is internalized during phagocytosis. The latex-containing phagocytic vacuoles are isolated by flotation in a discontinuous sucrose gradient. 15-30% of the total incorporated label and a comparable percentage of alkaline phosphodiesterase I activity (PDase, a plasma membrane enzyme marker) are recovered in the phagocytic vacuole fraction. Lysosomal enzyme activities are found in the latex vacuole fraction, indicating formation of phagolysosomes. SDS gel analyses reveal that all of the radioactive proteins initially present on the intact cell's surface are interiorized to the same relative extent. Incorporated label and PDase activity disappear much more rapidly from the phagolysosomes than from the whole cell. In the phagolysosomal compartment, greater than 70% of the TCA-precipitable labeled proteins and all of the PDase activity are lost rapidly (t1/2 equals 1-2 h) but similar 30% of the labeled proteins in this compartment are degraded with a 17-20 h half-life. The slowly degraded label is due to specific long-lived polypeptides, of 85,000 and 8,000-15,000 daltons, which remain in the phagolysosomal membrane up to 40 h after phagocytosis.

Ribonuclease and phosphodiesterase activities in rat hepatocyte plasma membranes

The ribonuclease and phosphodiesterase activities of rat hepatocyte plasma membranes, purified from the crude nuclear fraction by a rate-isopycnic zonal centrifugation, are examined and compared. The phosphodiesterase has a pH optimum between 9.5 and 10.0. It is inhibited by EDTA and activated by MgCl 2. The diphasic nature of the pH curve of the ribonuclease activity displayed by the plasma membranes in the presence of EDTA indicates that acid (pH optimum 6.3) and alkaline (pH optimum 7.4) ribonucleases are present. The alkaline ribonuclease was EDTA-insensitive whereas the acid enzyme requires EDTA for full expression. Solubilization of the acid enzyme is achieved in hypotonic medium whereas the alkaline ribonuclease remains mostly associated with the sediment. Latent alkaline ribonuclease was activated by exposure to 4 M urea and released from its relatively firm attachment to the plasma membrane. The effect of the natural rat liver inhibitor towards the various nucleolytic activities of the plasma membrane permits a further differentiation between the various enzymes. Although the alkaline ribonuclease activity is totally inactivated by the inhibitor, the acid ribonuclease and alkaline phosphodiesterase are unaffected.

Analytical study of microsomes and isolated subcellular membranes from rat liver. IV. Biochemical, physical, and morphological modifications of microsomal components induced by digitonin, EDTA, and pyrophosphate.

Isopycnic equilibration and sedimentation rate studies of rat liver microsomes led previously to the assignment of microsomal constituents into group a1 (monoamine oxidase), group a2 (5'-nucleotidase, alkaline phosphodiesterase I, alkaline phosphatase and cholesterol), group a3 (galactosyltransferase), group b (NADH cytochrome c reductase, NADPH cytochrome c reductase, aminopyrine demethylase, cytochrome b(5) and P 450), and group c (glucose 6-phosphatase, esterase, nucleoside diphosphatase, beta-glucuronidase and glucuronyltransferase). Confirmation and extension of the assignment into groups has been obtained by studying the differential effect of the reagents digitonin, EDTA, and PPi. Digitonin specifically affected the equilibrium density only of the group a2 and (to a lesser extent) group a3, and not of groups b and c under conditions which preserved the structure-linked latency of nucleoside diphosphatase and galactosyltransferase. Within experimental error the rate of sedimentation of all microsomal constituents was unaffected. The morphological appearance under the electron microscope was indistinguishable from that of nondigitonin-treated microsomes, except that a few smooth membranes (< 10%) exhibited broken-looking profiles. Treatment of microsomes with EDTA or PPi detached a substantial part of RNA and released protein in excess over the amount accountable for by detachment of ribosome constituents. This detachment was confirmed by electron microscopy. EDTA and PPi decreased markedly the equilibrium density and the density dispersion of groups b and c, due mainly to the uncoating of rough elements. EDTA and PPi shifted slightly the distribution profiles of groups a towards lower densities, possibly as a result of the release of adsorbed proteins. The combination of EDTA and digitonin, used subsequently, rendered the average equilibrium density of group a2 higher than that of groups b and c. Dense subfractions were thus enriched in constituents of group a2 and showed mainly broken-looking vesicles under the electron microscope. The import of our results on the biochemical and enzymic properties of the subcellular components of the microsome fractions is discussed.

Distribution of liver plasma membrane 5′ nucleotidase as indicated by its reaction with anti-plasma membrane serum

Antiserum against mouse liver plasma membranes was used to investigate the properties and distribution of the surface membrane enzyme 5′ nucleotidase. The antiserum inhibited 5′ nucleotidase but had no effect on alkaline phosphodiesterase, nucleotide pyrophosphatase, or insulin-binding activity. 5′ Nucleotidase was purified from mouse liver plasma membranes and the purified enzyme was shown to be inhibited by the antiserum. The membrane-bound and the purified enzyme were both inhibited in a noncompetitive manner. The reaction of the antiserum with 5′ nucleotidase activity of mouse liver plasma membrane “light” and “heavy” subfractions, and of rat liver and pig lymphocyte surface-membrane fractions was investigated. In each case the enzyme was inhibited by the antiserum. Since a protein must be partially exposed on the membrane surface in order to react with its antibody, the results are discussed in terms of the disposition of 5′ nucleotidase within the membrane.

Analytical study of microsomes and isolated subcellular membranes from rat liver. 3. Subfractionation of the microsomal fraction by isopycnic and differential centrifugation in density gradients.

Rat liver microsomal fractions have been equilibrated in various types of linear density gradients. 15 fractions were collected and assayed for 27 constituents. As a result of this analysis microsomal constituents have been classified, in the order of increasing median density, into four groups labeled a, b, c, and d. Group a includes: monoamine oxidase, galactosyltransferase, 5'-nucleotidase, alkaline phosphodiesterase I, alkaline phosphatase, and cholesterol; group b: NADH cytochrome c reductase, NADPH cytochrome c reductase, aminopyrine demethylase, cytochrome b(5), and cytochrome P 450; group c: glucose 6-phosphatase, nucleoside diphosphatase, esterase, beta-glucuronidase, and glucuronyltransferase; group d: RNA, membrane-bound ribosomes, and some enzymes probably adsorbed on ribosomes: fumarase, aldolase, and glutamine synthetase. Analysis of the microsomal fraction by differential centrifugation in density gradient has further dissociated group a into constituents which sediment more slowly (monoamine oxidase and galactosyltransferase) than those of groups b and c, and 5'-nucleotidase, alkaline phosphodiesterase I, alkaline phosphatase, and the bulk of cholesterol which sediment more rapidly (group a2). The microsomal monoamine oxidase is attributed, at least partially, to detached fragments of external mitochondrial membrane. Galactosyltransferase belongs to the Golgi complex. Group a2 constituents are related to plasma membranes. Constituents of groups b and c and RNA belong to microsomal vesicles derived from the endoplasmic reticulum. These latter exhibit a noticeable biochemical heterogeneity and represent at the most 80% of microsomal protein, the rest being accounted for by particles bearing the constituents of groups a and some contaminating mitochondria, lysosomes, and peroxisomes. Attention is called to the operational meaning of microsomal subfractions and to their cytological complexity.

Analytical study of microsomes and isolated subcellular membranes from rat liver. I. Biochemical methods.

The series introduced by this paper reports the results of a detailed analysis of the microsomal fraction from rat liver by density gradient centrifugation. The biochemical methods used throughout this work for the determination of monoamine oxidase, NADH cytochrome c reductase, NADPH cytochrome c reductase, cytochrome oxidase, catalase, aminopyrine demethylase, cytochromes b(5) and P 450, glucuronyltransferase, galactosyltransferase, esterase, alkaline and acid phosphatases, 5'-nucleotidase, glucose 6-phosphatase, alkaline phosphodiesterase I, N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase, beta-glucuronidase, nucleoside diphosphatase, aldolase, fumarase, glutamine synthetase, protein, phospholipid, cholesterol, and RNA are described and justified when necessary.