Time Course Of Hydrolysis Research Articles

Alpha 1-adrenergic receptors promote phosphatidylcholine hydrolysis in MDCK-D1 cells. A mechanism for rapid activation of protein kinase C.

Hydrolysis of phosphoinositides can lead to mobilization of calcium and production of diacylglycerol, which together are proposed to activate protein kinase C. We have shown that phosphoinositide hydrolysis mediated by alpha 1-adrenergic receptors on Madin-Darby canine kidney cells (MDCK-D1) occurred with an early lag and increased over a prolonged time course (Slivka, S.R., and Insel, P.A. (1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 4200-4207). In this study we characterize another type of receptor-mediated phospholipid hydrolysis in MDCK-D1 cells, alpha 1-adrenergic receptor-mediated hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine. The predicted products of this hydrolysis, phosphorylcholine and diacylglycerol, were detectable as early as 0.5 min after alpha 1-adrenergic receptor stimulation by epinephrine. This hydrolysis appears to be a primary event after receptor occupancy because it occurred in the presence of neomycin, an inhibitor of polyphosphoinositide hydrolysis, and the protein kinase C inhibitors, sphingosine and 1-(5-isoquinolinylsulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine (H-7). In addition, we demonstrate alpha 1-adrenergic receptor-mediated activation of protein kinase C in MDCK-D1 cells. This activation was measured as a rapid translocation (0.5 min) of protein kinase C activity from the cytosolic fraction to the membrane fraction. This translocation also was not inhibited by neomycin. The time course and agonist concentration dependence of both phosphatidylcholine hydrolysis and protein kinase C activation by alpha 1-adrenergic receptors were similar. Thus, we propose that agonists acting at alpha 1-adrenergic receptors promote hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine which results in rapid generation of diacylglycerol for the activation of protein kinase C.

Hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine in phosphatidylcholine-cholate mixtures by porcine pancreatic phospholipase A2.

Pancreatic phospholipase A2 (PLA2)-catalyzed hydrolysis of egg yolk phosphatidylcholine (PC) in mixed PC-cholate systems depends upon composition, structure, and size of the mixed aggregates. The hydrolysis of PC-cholate-mixed micelles made of an equal number of PC and cholate molecules is consistent with a Km of about 1 mM and a turnover number of about 120 s-1. Increasing the cholate/PC ratio in the micelles results in a decreased initial velocity. Hydrolysis of cholate-containing unilamellar vesicles is very sensitive to the ratio of cholate to PC in the vesicles. The hydrolysis of vesicles with an effective cholate/PC ratio greater than 0.27 is similar to that of the mixed micelles. The time course of hydrolysis of vesicles with lower effective ratios is similar to that exhibited by pure dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) large unilamellar vesicles in the thermotropic phase transition region. In the latter two cases, the rate of hydrolysis increases with time until substrate depletion becomes significant. The reaction can be divided phenomenologically into two phases: a latency phase where the amount of product formed is a square function of time (P(t) = At2) and a phase distinguished by a sudden increase in activity. The parameter A, which describes the activation rate of the enzyme during the initial phase in a quantitative fashion, increases with increasing [PLA2], decreasing [PC], decreasing vesicle size, and increasing relative cholate content of the vesicles. The effect of [PLA2] and [PC] on the hydrolysis reaction is similar to that found with pure DPPC unilamellar vesicles in their thermotropic phase transition region. The effect of cholate on the hydrolysis reaction is similar to that of temperature variation within the phase transition of temperature variation within the phase transition of DPPC. These results are consistent with our previously proposed model, which postulates that activation of PLA2 involves dimerization of the enzyme on the substrate surface and that the rate of activation is directly proportional to the magnitude of lipid structural fluctuations. It is suggested that large structural fluctuations, which exist in the pure lipid system in the phase transition range, are introduced into liquid crystalline vesicles by the presence of cholate and thus promote activation of the enzyme.

Repriming and reversal of the isometric unexplained enthalpy in frog skeletal muscle.

1. heat production and high-energy phosphate hydrolysis by frog sartorius muscles in 6 s isometric tetani were measured to test the hypothesis that the isometric unexplained enthalpy (u.e.) and labile maintenance heat (l.m.h.) were of similar origin. Muscles were first given a conditioning tetanus to deplete the u.e. and l.m.h. A second (test) 6 s tetanus was given 6-300 s later to ascertain the extent to which l.m.h. and u.e. had recovered (reprimed). 2. The labile maintenance heat repriming was biphasic: 42% of the conditioning l.m.h. reprimed with a time constant of 10 s, the remainder with a time constant of 500 s. 3. The u.e. produced in the test tetanus 6 s after the conditioning tetanus was reduced to 18% of its conditioning value. By 30 s, u.e. had returned to conditioning values even though the amount of high-energy phosphate splitting was 17% less than that in the conditioning tetanus. 4. This observation is supported by measurements revealing that during the 30 s following a 6 s tetanus an amount of enthalpy was absorbed (less heat produced than expected from the measured metabolic changes) whose absolute value (after correction for oxygen consumption) was not different from the amount of unexplained enthalpy liberated during the tetanus. 5. The difference in repriming time course shows that l.m.h. and u.e. are not produced by the same reactions. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that calcium binding to troponin and parvalbumin produce u.e. while calcium binding to troponin and a non-linear time course of ATP hydrolysis produce l.m.h.

Amino-N compounds found in soil organic matter hydrolysates of a loamy sand using an immobilized protease reactor column

Soil organic matter (OM) from seven different fertility plots of a loamy sand was extracted and fractionated into high- and low-molecular-weight (HMW, LMW) fractions using gel filtration. The fractions were acid-hydrolyzed to determine the amino sugar and amino acid contents. The same fractions were hydrolyzed with an immobilized protease reactor column. Reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to identify the soil amino-N compounds. With the HMW fraction as substrate, the enzyme released less than 1% of 11 amino-N compounds determined by acid hydrolysis. Phenylalanine and leucine, however, were recovered in quantities of 2% and 4%, respectively. Immobilized protease hydrolysis of the LMW fraction recovered considerably more amino-N compounds compared with acid hydrolysis of the same fractions. Each system of hydrolysis produced some amino-N compounds not found in the other. We conclude that an immobilized enzyme reactor column will allow a researcher to perform time-course hydrolysis, so that hydrolysis intermediates, e.g. peptides, can be separated and identified.

The time course of hydrolysis of a beta-lactam antibiotic by intact gram-negative bacteria possessing a periplasmic beta-lactamase.

An equation is derived from first principles for describing the change in concentration with time of a beta-lactam antibiotic in the presence of intact Gram-negative bacteria possessing a beta-lactamase located in the periplasmic space. The equation predicts a first-order decline in beta-lactam concentration of the form [S] = [Si]e lambda t, where [S] is the exogenous concentration of beta-lactam, [Si] is the value of [S] at time zero, t is the time from mixing of cells and antibiotic and lambda (less than 0) is the decay constant. The value of lambda is exactly described by the theory in terms of experimentally measurable quantities. Quantitative data concerning cephaloridine hydrolysis by intact cells of Haemophilus influenzae agreed well with the theory, as did data concerning the uptake of 2-nitrophenyl galactoside by intact cells of Escherichia coli. Cephalosporin C hydrolysis by intact cells of Pseudomonas aeruginosa did not progress as predicted by the theory. The theory is applicable to any substrate which is acted on by an enzyme that is located solely in the periplasmic space and that obeys the Michaelis-Menten equation of enzyme kinetics.

Interactions between nucleotide binding sites on chloroplast coupling factor during ATP hydrolysis.

The initial hydrolysis of CaATP by chloroplast coupling factor 1 was studied with the quenched-flow method. The time course of hydrolysis can be described as a first-order conversion of the enzyme to an active form followed by steady-state formation of product. The rat constant for the first-order process is independent of substrate concentration but increases hyperbolically to a limiting value of 0.43 s-1 with increasing concentrations of free Ca2+. A mechanism involving a Ca2+-triggered conversion to an active form of the enzyme is consistent with the data. The steady-state rate varied sigmoidally with the CaATP concentration. Initial exchange of tightly bound ADP is complex: approximately 50% of the bound nucleotide is lost within 30 s, with complete exchange requiring several minutes. The first-order rate constant characterizing the rapid phase of the reaction increases hyperbolically to a limiting value of 0.26 s-1 as the concentration of CaATP is increased, indicating that the binding of CaATP to the enzyme promotes the exchange process. Modification of the quenched-flow apparatus permitted measurement of the rate of nucleotide exchange during steady-state catalysis. The value of the first-order rate constant characterizing this process is similar to the catalytic rate constant determined under identical conditions. When MgATP is tightly bound to the enzyme, none of the kinetic properties of the enzyme described above were significantly changed. The results obtained suggest a mechanism in which two sites on the enzyme participate in catalysis. Several possible mechanisms consistent with the data are discussed.

Utilization of Lipase (I)

To determine if solid wax esters are hydrolyzed by enzymes (lipase or esterase) they were dissolved in organic solvents followed by incubation with aqueous solutions of commercial enzymes at 45°C, 500 rpm.Among the commercial preparations of several microbial enzymes tested, lipases from Candida cylindracea and Rhizopus chinensis were found to act on vegetable wax esters such as rice bran wax, candelilla wax and esparto wax. The carnauba wax ester hardly underwent any hydrolysis by any lipase. There was virtually no reaction of the lipases with the above wax esters in aqueous reaction systems. The time courses of hydrolysis of the wax esters was noted to vary according to the particular lipase used. The amount of each lipase required to bring about the same extent of hydrolysis on the same wax ester differed significantly. These findings may be accounted for primarily on the basis of the substrate specificity of each lipase for the carbon chain length of alcohols and fatty acids which are constituents of the vegetable wax esters. The data of the present study demonstrate the enzymatical hydrolysis of solid wax esters. This is at variance with the generally held notion that solid waxes are not attacked by enzymes.

Deinhibition of cardiac Na+-K+-ATPase after exposure to exogenous phospholipase A2.

After 2 h of exogenous phospholipase A2 (PLA2) exposure, membrane phospholipid decreased from 3.22 +/- 0.31 to 1.06 +/- 0.13 mumol/mg (33% of control). All classes of phospholipid, except sphingomyelin, were hydrolyzed, whereas total cholesterol content was unaffected. Increases in nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) were reflected primarily in oleic (18:1), linoleic (18:2), and arachidonic (20:4). Na+-K+-adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) activity was inhibited to 29% of control by 2 h of PLA2 treatment, and this inhibition was reversed (albeit, not completely after 5 min of PLA2 treatment) by removal of the hydrolysis products with 0.1% bovine serum albumin (BSA). In contrast, the apparent binding capacity for [3H]ouabain was not affected by PLA2 treatment. Unmasking of latent [3H]ouabain binding by alamethicin was utilized to estimate changes in the proportion of sealed vesicles present before and after PLA2 treatment. PLA2 treatment resulted in a time-dependent loss of sealed vesicles that paralleled the time course of phospholipid hydrolysis and was not reversed by washing with BSA. These studies demonstrate that cardiac Na+-K+-ATPase activity is inhibited by accumulation of endogenously produced lysophospholipids and NEFA. In contrast, loss of vesicle integrity may result from both accumulation of endogenously produced hydrolysis products and membrane phospholipid depletion.

Phosphate burst in permeable muscle fibers of the rabbit

The transient kinetics of ATP hydrolysis in chemically skinned psoas muscle fibers of the rabbit have been measured. Muscles fibers in the rigor state (absence of nucleotide) were relaxed rapidly by the photochemical release of [2-3H]ATP from caged-ATP (P3-1-(2-nitro)phenylethyl[2-3H]adenosine 5'-triphosphate) in the absence of calcium ions. Rapid freezing of the fiber to stop hydrolysis, followed by analysis of the tritiated nucleotide content allowed the course of the hydrolysis to be determined. The timecourse of ATP hydrolysis was biphasic, with an initial rapid phase occurring at a rate of approximately 60 s-1 at 12 degrees C for fibers exposed to greater than 0.7 mM ATP. The amplitude of the rapid phase was as previously reported (Ferenczi, M. A., E. Homsher, and D. R. Trentham, 1984, J. Physiol. (Lond.)., 352:575-599).

Hydrolysis of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine large unilamellar vesicles by porcine pancreatic phospholipase A2.

The interaction between dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine large unilamellar vesicles and porcine pancreatic phospholipase A2 has been studied under a variety of conditions. It was found that the presence of large unilamellar vesicles inhibits the hydrolysis of small unilamellar vesicles at room temperature, and reaction calorimetric experiments showed that protein-lipid interactions in the absence of Ca2+ occur in the gel state with a stoichiometry of about 40 phospho-lipid molecules/protein-binding site. However, hydrolysis can be induced in the gel state under conditions of osmotic shock. On the other hand, hydrolysis is usually observed within the lipid transition temperature range, but then it occurs only after a latency phase during which the hydrolysis is very slow. The duration of this latency phase reaches a minimum near the phase transition temperature. However, if the enzyme-substrate mixture is heated from low temperatures (continuously or by a temperature jump) to a temperature within the phase transition region, hydrolysis occurs instantaneously. These results are in accordance with the conclusions of the preceding paper (Menashe, M., Romero, G., Biltonen, R. L., and Lichtenberg, D. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 5328-5333) that effective binding of the enzyme to lipid vesicles occurs relatively rapidly in the gel state and that activation of the enzyme-substrate complex requires the existence of structural irregularities in the lipid bilayer. Although hydrolysis products may have a pronounced effect on the time course of the reaction in the transition range, instantaneous hydrolysis can be induced in the phase transition region in the absence of reaction products by appropriate manipulation of the experimental conditions during which no reaction products are produced. Thus reaction products are not essential for activation of porcine pancreatic phospholipase A2. Furthermore, it is shown that the fraction of lipid hydrolyzed during the latency period is a function of the initial substrate concentration in a manner inconsistent with the proposition that the accumulation of a constant critical fraction of reaction products is the basis for activation. Comparison of the results of this study with those of the preceding paper strongly support the previously proposed reaction scheme.

Hydrolysis of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine small unilamellar vesicles by porcine pancreatic phospholipase A2.

The hydrolysis of small unilamellar vesicles made of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcoline by pancreatic phospholipase A2 has been studied under various conditions of temperature and enzyme and substrate concentration using the following three different experimental protocols. When the enzyme was added to the substrate vesicles after being separately adjusted to the temperature of the experiments hydrolysis occurred instantaneously only in the temperature range where the lipid is known to exist in its gel phase, while above the transition range no hydrolysis occurred. Within the transition range, the time course of hydrolysis was characterized by initial very slow rate of hydrolysis (latency phase) followed by an abrupt increase in the rate after a time tau, which is a complex function of temperature and enzyme to substrate ratio. When an enzyme-substrate mixture was first preincubated below Tm and then temperature jumped to a temperature above or within the transition range, the latency phase was markedly shortened. When the temperature jump was to the transition range, this effect is observed even if Ca2+ is absent in the preincubation mixture. However, instantaneous hydrolysis was observed upon temperature jumping the mixture to a temperature high above Tm only if Ca2+ was present in the preincubation medium. In temperature-scanning experiments, hydrolysis was followed while changing the temperature of the enzyme-substrate mixture continuously. Heating an enzyme-substrate mixture from room temperature resulted in an abrupt onset of hydrolysis when the transition range was approached. These results lead us to conclude that two distinctly different steps precede rapid hydrolysis of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine small unilamellar vesicles by pancreatic phospholipase A2: a Ca2+-independent binding of the enzyme to the substrate vesicles, which for chemically pure bilayers occurs best in the gel phase. This step is followed by a Ca2+-dependent activation of the initially formed enzyme-substrate complex. The latter step only occurs under conditions where the bilayer possesses packing irregularities and probably involves a reorganization of the enzyme-substrate complex. At least one of these two steps appears to involve enzyme-enzyme interaction.

The initial phosphate burst in ATP hydrolysis by myosin and subfragment-1 as studied by a modified malachite green method for determination of inorganic phosphate.

The Malachite Green method for determination of inorganic phosphate (Pi) (Itaya K. & Ui, M. (1966) Clin. Chim. Acta 14, 361-366) was modified to measure Pi in the range of 0.2-15 nmol per ml of ATPase reaction mixture. An ATPase reaction mixture is quenched with an equal volume of 0.6 M PCA; the supernatant after centrifugation is mixed with an equal volume of the Malachite Green/molybdate reagent containing 2 g of sodium molybdate, 0.3 g of Malachite Green and 0.5 g of Triton X-100 or Sterox SE in 1 liter of 0.7 M HCl, and the absorbance at 650 nm is then measured after a 35-40 min incubation at 25 degrees C. Owing to the high sensitivity and simplicity of the modified method, the slow time course of myosin ATP hydrolysis in the presence of Mg2+ and the size of initial phosphate burst can be determined accurately using relatively low concentrations of native myosin and its subfragment-1. The phosphate burst size varied with changes in pH, ionic strength, and temperature. A typical value was 0.8-0.9 mol per site in 0.1 M KCl, 10 mM MgCl2, pH 8.0 at 25 degrees C for fresh enzyme preparations.

Effects of pH on tubulin-nucleotide interactions

Significant GTP-independent, temperature-dependent turbidity development occurs with purified tubulin stored in the absence of unbound nucleotide, and this can be minimized with a higher reaction pH. Since microtubule assembly is optimal at lower pH values, we examined pH effects on tubulin-nucleotide interactions. While the lowest concentration of GTP required for assembly changed little, GDP was more inhibitory at higher pH values. The amounts of exogenous GTP bound to tubulin at all pH values were similar, but the amounts of exogenous GDP bound and endogenous GDP (i.e., GDP originally bound in the exchangeable site) retained by tubulin rose as reaction pH increased. Endogenous GDP was more efficiently displaced by exogenous GTP than GDP at all pH values, but displacement by GTP was 10–15% greater at pH 6 than at pH 7. Dissociation constants for GDP and GTP were about 1.0 μ m at pH 6 and 0.02 μ m at pH 7. A small increase in the affinity of GDP relative to that of GTP occurs at pH 7 as compared to pH 6, together with a 50-fold absolute increase in the affinity of both nucleotides for tubulin at pH 7. The time courses of microtubule assembly and GTP hydrolysis were compared at pH 6 and pH 7. At pH 6, the two reactions were simultaneous in onset and initially stoichiometric. At pH 7, although the reactions began simultaneously, hydrolysis seemed to lag substantially behind assembly. Unhydrolyzed radio-labeled GTP was not incorporated into microtubules, however, indicating that GTP hydrolysis is actually closely coupled to assembly. The apparent lag in hydrolysis probably results from a methodological artifact rather than incorporation of GTP into the microtubule with delayed hydrolysis.

PHARMACOKINETICS OF 3 PREDNISOLONE PRODRUGS

Renal allograft rejections are often treated with high doses of prednisone or prednisolone. The solubility of the biologically active prednisolone is poor. Therefore prednisolone is given i.v. as prednisolone disodium phosphate (prednisolone phosphate) or as prednisolone sodium tetrahydrophthalate (prednisolone phthalate). The time course of hydrolysis of high doses of these prodrugs and the reduction of high doses of oral prednisone into prednisolone has not been investigated. Therefore 10 patients treated for acute rejection were given, on 3 occasions, oral prednisone, i.v. prednisolone phosphate, or i.v. prednisolone phthalate in equimolar doses corresponding to 7 mg/kg of prednisolone. Blood samples were collected over a 24-hr period. Measurements were performed by high-performance liquid chromatography and equilibrium dialysis. The time to peak, the peak concentrations, and the area under the plasma-concentration-vs.-time curve (AUC) of prednisone and of unbound prednisolone were calculated. In all patients the hydrolysis of the prednisolone phosphate ester was faster than that of the prednisolone phthalate ester. The mean (+/- SD) peak concentrations of unbound prednisolone were higher after i.v. prednisolone phosphate (18.5 +/- 3.4 micrograms/ml) than after i.v. prednisolone phthalate (2.9 +/- 0.5 micrograms/ml) or after oral prednisone (3.1 +/- 0.8 micrograms/ml), (P less than 0.001). The mean AUCs of unbound prednisolone were 2324 +/- 683 micrograms/ml/min from prednisolone phosphate, 1209 +/- 324 micrograms/ml/min from prednisolone phthalate, and 1584 +/- 556 micrograms/ml/min from oral prednisone. The AUCs of prednisolone from i.v. prednisolone phosphate (P less than 0.001) or from oral prednisone (P less than 0.005) were higher than from i.v. prednisolone phthalate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Inhibition of hydrolysis of phosphorylated Ca2+,Mg2+-ATPase of the sarcoplasmic reticulum by Ca2+ inside and outside the vesicles.

The effects of intra- and extravesicular calcium and magnesium ions on the hydrolysis of the phosphoenzyme (EP) intermediate formed in the reaction of Ca2+,Mg2+-dependent ATPase of the sarcoplasmic reticulum were investigated. The rate constants of EP hydrolysis were measured under conditions that allowed a single turnover of ATP hydrolysis to minimize the increase in calcium concentration inside the vesicles. The EP formed during a single turnover was hydrolyzed biphasically and could be resolved into fast- and slow-decomposing components. When free Mg2+ outside the vesicles was chelated by adding excess EDTA, EP could also be kinetically resolved into two components; EDTA-sensitive EP, which could be quickly decomposed by adding EDTA, and EDTA-insensitive EP, which could be prevented from decomposing by adding EDTA. The amount of EDTA-sensitive EP decreased rapidly during the initial phase of the reaction, while that of EDTA-insensitive EP decreased slowly with the same rate constant as that of the slow-decomposing EP. These results showed that the biphasic time course of EP hydrolysis was caused by the formation of EDTA-sensitive and -insensitive EP during the reaction. The time course of EP hydrolysis could be quantitatively analyzed in terms of the following reaction mechanism. (formula; see text) The decomposition of EDTA-insensitive EP required Mg2+ outside the vesicles and was competitively inhibited by extravesicular Ca2+. The decomposition of EDTA-sensitive EP was inhibited by Ca2+ inside the vesicles but not by external Ca2+. The linear relationships between the inverse of the rate constants of EP decomposition during the initial phase and the intravesicular CaCl2 concentrations suggested that decomposition of EDTA-sensitive EP was inhibited by the binding of 1 mol of intravesicular Ca2+ to 1 mol of EP. Furthermore, Mg2+ inside the vesicles scarcely affected the inhibition of EP hydrolysis by intravesicular Ca2+. These results suggested that magnesium ions are not counter-transported during the active transport of calcium by SR vesicles.

Cellulosic materials: Structure and enzymatic hydrolysis relationships

Structural and morphological features of four different cellulosic materials have been deeped by X-ray, CP–MAS NMR, water retention, and specific surface area analysis. Hydrolysis time courses of two of these celluloses were followed by employing an enzymatic system consisting of a cellulase from Trichoderma viride and a cellobiase from Aspergillus niger. Experimental results were rationalized on the basis of a methematical model previously verified on the other two substrates. All the celluloses presented the same mechanistic framework involving product inhibitions. The most efficient pretreatment was found to be the dissolution of cellulosic material in the dimethyl sulfoxide–paraformaldehyde system and regeneration with ammonia. This treatment cancelled the memory of the initial structural order.

Characterization and function of pig intestinal sucrase-isomaltase and its separate subunits.

Papain-solubilized pig intestinal sucrase-isomaltase was purified to homogeneity in a four-step process with a yield of 50%. The substrate specificities of the two enzyme activities were studied together and separately after inactivation or inhibition of one of the activities. Michaelis constants, maximum velocities and time courses of hydrolysis of several substrates, in particular alpha-limit dextrins, were used to characterize this complex of alpha-glucosidases. The participation of the enzyme complex in the hydrolysis of alpha-limit dextrins and more generally in pathways for starch breakdown in the pig digestive tract is examined and discussed.

A proton n.m.r. study of iminodipeptide transport and hydrolysis in the human erythrocyte. Possible physiological roles for the coupled system.

The first description of a saturable iminodipeptide transport system present in human erythrocytes is given. The 1H-n.m.r. spectra of glycyl-L-proline and those of free glycine and L-proline are significantly different. This enabled the non-invasive monitoring by 1H-n.m.r. spectroscopy of the hydrolysis of the dipeptide in human erythrocytes and their lysates. The concentration-dependence of the rate of glycyl-L-proline hydrolysis by haemolysates was described by the Michaelis-Menten expression with Km = 14.1 +/- 2.4 mmol/litre and Vmax. = 130 +/- 10 mmol/h per litre of cell water. At concentrations of the dipeptide that saturated prolidase, hydrolysis of glycyl-L-proline by whole cells was approximately 130 times slower than by lysates. This rate difference indicated that transport is the rate-determining step in peptide hydrolysis by whole cells, and thus the concentration-dependence of the transport rate was determined. The membrane transport system was found to be saturable and could be described by the Michaelis-Menten expression with Kt = 4.7 +/- 0.4 mmol/litre and Vmax. = 0.997 +/- 0.026 mmol/h per litre of cell water. Numerical integration of a consistent set of differential rate equations that described a minimal model of the coupled transport-hydrolysis system successfully described prolonged time courses of peptide hydrolysis by whole cells. The simulations showed very low steady-state levels of dipeptide in the erythrocyte and very small lag periods (less than 5 min) in the progress curve describing the appearance of free amino acid inside the cells. The rates of transport of glycyl-L-proline into erythrocytes and kidney proximal-tubular epithelium were compared and the possible importance of erythrocyte prolidase in whole-body prolyl-peptide turnover is discussed.

Isolation and characterization of pteroylpolyglutamate hydrolase from rat intestinal mucosa.

Pteroylpolyglutamate hydrolase was isolated from rat intestinal mucosa and purified with the aid of affinity chromatography. The affinity ligand was poly-gamma-glutamic acid (Mr approximately 12,000) derived from Bacillus subtilis. The specific enzymatic activity was increased 2,000-fold over the 100,000 X g supernatant of the mucosal homogenate with a yield of 20%. Sephadex G-200 gel filtration yielded an estimated molecular mass of 80,000 daltons. The isoelectric point was pH 8.2. The pH optimum in acetate buffer containing 1 mM zinc was 4.5. The KM values for pteroylheptaglutamate and pteroyltriglutamate were 0.21 and 0.67 microM, respectively. Polyanionic compounds, poly-gamma-glutamic acid, dextran sulfate, and heparin were noncompetitive inhibitors. Studies of the time course of hydrolysis of synthetic [3H]pteroylheptaglutamate by three separate techniques demonstrated the appearance of [3H]pteroylmonoglutamate, synchronous with substrate cleavage. Intermediate pteroyloligoglutamates were not detected. An endopeptidase-like mode of hydrolysis was further established by identification of a hexaglutamyl peptide as the other reaction product.

Katalytische Aktivität der Serumlipase im kontinuierlichen titrimetrischen Test in Abhängigkeit von der Temperatur

The catalytic activity of the pancreatic lipase in serum was measured between 20 degrees C and 37 degrees C by the continuous titrimetric assay. As the temperature was increased, the time course of substrate hydrolysis showed an increasing tendency to become non-linear. The degree of non-linearity and its time of onset depended on the sample, the volume of serum in the assay, and the composition of the triglyceride substrate mixture. Twenty seven series of investigations between 20 degrees C and 32 degrees C (maximal) showed a Q10 value of 1.45 (s = 0.03) and an activation energy of mu = 27.42 +/- 0.565 kJ/mol (6550 +/- 135 cal/mol; mean +/- s). At low assay temperature, the addition of colipase caused a slight deterioration of the reaction kinetics, whereas at higher temperatures it caused a marked improvement in the time course of substrate hydrolysis. We were unable, however, to identify a fixed colipase concentration that would promote a linear reaction irrespective of sample origin and volume. These results show that the assay should be performed at 25 degrees C, and that the test conditions described in 1969 and 1982 are valid without modification. If these conditions are observed, there is no experimental basis for the addition of colipase of the quality commercially available at present.