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Antimalarial drug discovery has been facilitated by the development of various in vitro drug susceptibility testing methods suitable for medium-throughput or high-throughput campaigns. Among many, the Plasmodium falciparum lactate dehydrogenase (PfLDH) assay has acceptable demand on equipment, labour, technical skills and affordability and offers a good opportunity for scientists in low- and middle-income countries to participate in the global effort of discovering future antimalarial drugs. Hence, to enable our search for novel antimalarial drugs, we implemented and examined assay conditions and validated the PfLDH-based method in our laboratory using a reference set of standard antimalarial drugs with known activity against Plasmodium falciparum strains. The PfLDH assay revealed acceptable linearity profiles of R

In the present work, a novel nanocomposite based on the graphene quantum dots and CoNiAl-layered double-hydroxide was successfully synthesized by co-precipitation method. To achieve the morphological, structural and compositional information, the resulted nanocomposite was characterized by scanning electron microscopy X-ray diffraction, thermal gravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and photoluminescence. Then, the nanocomposite was used as a modifier to fabricate a modified carbon paste electrode as a non-enzymatic sensor for glucose determination. Electrochemical behavior and determination of glucose at the nanocomposite modified carbon paste electrode were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry methods, respectively. The prepared sensor offered good electrocatalytic properties, fast response time, high reproducibility and stability. At the optimum conditions, the constructed sensor exhibits wide linear range; 0.01–14.0 mM with a detection limit of 6 μM (S/N = 3) and high sensitivity of 48.717 μAmM−1. Finally, the sensor was successfully applied to determine the glucose in real samples which demonstrated its applicability.

Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are critical to the success of malaria elimination campaigns. These tests are rapid, user-friendly, and field-deployable to resource-limited regions. However, RDTs demonstrate poor sensitivity because they can only tolerate a small (5 μL) volume of blood, which limits the amount of protein biomarker delivered to the test. We have developed the An tibody-free D ual-biomarker R apid E nrichment W orkflow (AnDREW) for purifying histidine-rich protein 2 (HRP2) and Plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase (PLDH) from large volume (150 μL) blood samples. We used Zn(II)NTA and aptamer-conjugated magnetic beads to capture HRP2 and PLDH, respectively. Both biomarkers were then eluted into RDT-compatible volumes using ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA). We optimized both bead conjugates individually by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and then combined the optimized capture and elution assays for both biomarkers to produce the AnDREW. The AnDREW-enhanced RDTs exhibited a 11-fold and 9-fold improvement in analytical sensitivity for detection of HRP2 and PLDH, respectively, when compared to unenhanced RDTs. Moreover, the limit of detection for PLDH was improved 11-fold for the AnDREW-enhanced RDTs (3.80 parasites/μL) compared to unenhanced RDTs (42.31 parasites/μL). Importantly, the AnDREW utilizes a pan-specific PLDH aptamer and improves upon existing methods by eluting both biomarkers without complexed antibodies.

In this study, a dry assay of l -lactate via the enzymatic chromatographic test (ECT) was developed. An l -lactate dehydrogenase plus a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) regeneration reaction were applied simultaneously. Various tetrazolium salts were screened to reveal visible color intensities capable of determining the lactate concentrations in the sample. The optimal analysis conditions were as follows. The diaphorase (0.5 μl, 2 −6 U/μl) was immobilized in the test line of the ECT strip. Nitrotetrazolium blue chloride (5 μl, 12 mM), l -lactate dehydrogenase (1 μl, 0.25 U/μl), and NAD + (2 μl, 1.5 × 10 −5 M) were added into the mobile phase (100 μl) composed of 0.1% (w/w) Tween 20 in 10 mM phosphate buffer (pH 9.0), and the process was left to run for 10 min. This detection had a linear range of 0.039 to 5 mM with a detection limit of 0.047 mM. This quantitative analysis process for l -lactate was easy to operate with good stability and was proper for the point-of-care testing applications.

A 90 mer ssDNA aptamer (P38) enriched against Plasmodium falciparum lactate dehydrogenase (PfLDH) through SELEX process was immobilized over glassy carbon electrode (GCE) using graphene oxide (GO) as an immobilization matrix, and the modified electrode was investigated for detection of PfLDH. The GO was synthesized from powdered pencil graphite and characterized by XRD based on the increased interlayer distance between graphitic layers from 0.345 nm for graphite to 0.829 nm for GO. The immobilization of P38 on GO was confirmed by ID/IG intensity ratio in Raman spectra where, the ratio were 0.67, 0.915, and 1.35 for graphite, GO and P38-GO, respectively. The formation of the P38 layer over GO-GCE was evident from an increase in the surface height in AFM analysis of the electrode from ∼3.5 nm for GO-GCE to ∼27 nm for P38-GO-GCE. The developed aptasensor when challenged with the target, a detection of as low as 0.5 fM of PfLDH was demonstrated. The specificity of the aptasensor was confirmed through a voltametric measurement at 0.65 V of the reduced co-factor generated from the PfLDH catalysis. Studies on interference from some common proteins, storage stability, repeatability and analysis of real samples demonstrated the practical application potential of the aptasensor.

An amperometric lactate biosensor was developed based on a conducting polymer, poly-5,2'-5',2''-terthiophene-3'-carboxylic acid (pTTCA), and multiwall carbon nanotube (MWNT) composite on a gold electrode. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and the oxidized form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)) were subsequently immobilized onto the pTTCA/MWNT composite film. The modified electrode was characterized by quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and electrochemical experiments. The detection signal was amplified by the pTTCA/MWNT assembly onto which a sufficient amount of enzyme was immobilized and stabilized by the covalent bond formation between the amine groups of enzyme and the carboxylic acid groups of the pTTCA/MWNT film. Experimental parameters affecting the sensor responses, such as applied potential, pH, and temperature, were assessed and optimized. Analytical performances and dynamic ranges of the sensor were determined, and the results showed that the sensitivity, stability, and reproducibility of the sensor improved significantly using pTTCA/MWNT composite film. The calibration plot was linear (r(2)=0.9995) over the range of 5 to 90 microM. The sensitivity was approximately 0.0106 microA/microM, with a detection limit of 1 microM, based on a signal/noise ratio of 3. The applicability of the sensor for the analysis of l-lactate concentration in commercial milk and human serum samples was demonstrated successfully.

Metabolic profiling of serum from gadolinium chloride (GdCl(3), 10 and 50 mg/kg body weight, intraperitoneal [i.p.])-treated rats was investigated by the NMR spectroscopic-based metabonomic strategy. Serum samples were collected at 48, 96, and 168h postdose (p.d.) after exposure to GdCl(3). (1)H NMR spectra of serum were analyzed by pattern recognition using principal components analysis. The studies showed that there was a dose-related biochemical effect of GdCl(3) treatment on the levels of a range of low-molecular weight compounds in serum. The liver damage induced by GdCl(3) was characterized by the elevation of lactate, pyruvate, and creatine as well as the decrease of branched-chain amino acids (valine and isoleucine), alanine, glucose, and trimethylamine-N-oxide concentration in serum samples. The biochemical effects of GdCl(3) in rats could be consulted when evaluating the biochemical profile of gadolinium-containing compounds that are being developed for nuclear magnetic resonance imaging.

Lipid-based transfection reagents are widely used for delivery of small interfering RNA into cells. We examined whether the commonly used commercial transfection reagents DharmaFECT-4 and Lipofectamine 2000 can interfere with lipid metabolism by studying cholesterogenesis. Cholesterol de novo synthesis from [14C]acetate was assessed in human hepatocyte-derived Huh-7 cells. The results revealed that DharmaFECT, but not Lipofectamine, markedly inhibited cholesterol biosynthesis by approximately 70%. Cell viability was not significantly altered. These findings suggest that caution is required in the choice of certain lipid-based transfection reagents for gene silencing experiments, particularly when assessing cholesterol metabolism. Fil: Danielli, Mauro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Fisiología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Instituto de Fisiología Experimental; Argentina Fil: Marinelli, Raul Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Fisiología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Instituto de Fisiología Experimental; Argentina

We report a sensitive, magnetic bead-based colorimetric assay for Plasmodium falciparum lactate dehydrogenase (PfLDH) in which the biomarker is extracted from parasitized whole blood and purified based on antigen binding to antibody-functionalized magnetic particles. Antigen-bound particles are washed, and PfLDH activity is measured on-bead using an optimized colorimetric enzyme reaction (limit of detection [LOD] = 21.1 ± 0.4 parasites/μl). Enhanced analytical sensitivity is achieved by removal of PfLDH from the sample matrix before detection and elimination of nonspecific reductases and species that interfere with the optimal detection wavelength for measuring assay development. The optimized assay represents a simple and effective diagnostic strategy for P. falciparum malaria with time-to-result of 45 min and detection limits similar to those of commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits, which can take 4–6 h. This method could be expanded to detect all species of malaria by switching the capture antibody on the magnetic particles to a pan-specific Plasmodium LDH antibody.

We established a histobiochemical approach targeting micron-order inclusion bodies possessing extensive aggregation properties in situ by using a nonchemical denaturant (oligomeric actin interacting protein 2/ d -lactate dehydrogenase protein 2 [Aip2p/Dld2p]) with the combinatorial method of laser-microdissection and immunoblot analysis. As a model, pick bodies were chosen and laser-microdissected from three different brain regions of two patients with Pick’s disease. Initially, 500 to 2000 pick bodies were applied onto SDS–PAGE gels after boiling in Laemmli’s sample buffer according to established immunoblotting procedures; however, only faint signals were obtained. Following negative results with chemical denaturants or detergent, including 6 M guanidine hydrochloride, 8 M urea, and 2% SDS, the laser-microdissected pick bodies were pretreated with oligomeric Aip2p/Dld2p, which possesses robust protein unfolding activity under biological conditions. Strikingly, only one pick body was sufficient to illustrate an immunoblot signal, indicating that pretreatment with oligomeric Aip2p/Dld2p enhanced the immunoblot sensitivity by more than 100-fold. Pretreatment with oligomeric Aip2p/Dld2p also allowed us to quantify the total protein content of pick bodies. Thus, use of oligomeric Aip2p/Dld2p significantly contributed toward the acquisition of information pertaining to the molecular profile of proteins possessing an extensive aggregation property, particularly in small amounts.

A new reliable method to assay the activity of cytidine monophosphate sialic acid (CMP-Sia) synthetase (CSS) has been developed. The activation of sialic acids (Sia) to CMP-Sia is a prerequisite for the de novo synthesis of sialoglycoconjugates. In vertebrates, CSS has been cloned from human, mouse, and rainbow trout, and the crystal structure has been resolved for the mouse enzyme. The mouse and rainbow trout enzyme have been compared with respect to substrate specificity, demonstrating that the mouse enzyme exhibits a pronounced specificity for N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac), while the rainbow trout CSS is equally active with either of three Sia species, Neu5Ac, N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc), and deaminoneuraminic acid (KDN). However, molecular details that explain the pronounced substrate specificities are unknown. Understanding the catalytic mechanisms of these enzymes is of major importance, since CSSs play crucial roles in cellular sialylation patterns and thus are potential drug targets in a number of pathophysiological situations. The availability of the cDNAs and the obtained structural data enable rational approaches; however, these efforts are limited by the lack of a reliable high-throughput assay system. Here we describe a new assay system that allows product quantification in a reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH)-dependent color reaction. The activation reaction catalyzed by CSS, CTP+Sia-->CMP-Sia+pyrophosphate, was evaluated by a consumption of Sia, which corresponds to that of NADH on the following two successive reactions: (i) Sia-->pyruvate+ManNAc (or Man), catalyzed by a sialic acid lyase (SAL), and (ii) pyruvate+NADH-->lactate+oxidized nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), catalyzed by a lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Consumption of NADH can be photometrically monitored on a microtiter plate reader for a number of test samples at the same time. Furthermore, based on the quantification of CSS used in the SAL/LDH assay, relative activities toward Sia derivatives have been obtained. The preference of mouse CSS toward Neu5Ac and the ability of the rainbow trout enzyme to activate both KDN and Neu5Ac were confirmed. Thus, this simple and time-saving method is suitable for a systematic comparison of enzyme activity of structurally mutated enzymes based on the relative specific activity.

This study reevaluates the potential for direct coupling of NAD(P)(+) to a carboxylate-terminating spacer arm using carbodiimide-promoted coupling in an attempt to develop a greatly simplified synthetic method for cofactor immobilization that would support the more widespread adoption of kinetic-based enzyme capture (KBEC) strategies for protein purification applications and protein-detecting arrays/proteomic studies. Direct coupling of NAD(+) to epoxy (1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether)-activated Sepharose is also described. Depending on the synthetic method used, the position of attachment of cofactor is concluded to be primarily through the pyrophosphate or ribosyl hydroxyl groups. Total substitution levels varied from 0.5 to 2 micromol/g wet weight with 28-67% accessibility. Model bioaffinity chromatographic studies employing KBEC strategies are reported for bovine heart L-lactate dehydrogenase, yeast alcohol dehydrogenase, l-phenylalanine dehydrogenase from Sporosarcina, glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) from Candida utilis, and GDH from bovine liver. The NAD(+) derivative prepared using epoxy-activated Sepharose shows most potential for further development based on total substitution levels, the apparent absence of nonbiospecific interference, reversible biospecific adsorption of some of the test enzymes using soluble KBEC/stripping ligand tactics, and the relative simplicity of the synthetic method.

Analyses of temperature-dependent kinetic parameters in enzymes extracted from tissues of ectothermic animals are usually carried out within the range of physiological temperatures (0-40 degrees C). However, multisample spectrophotometers (so-called microplate readers) with efficient wide-range temperature control (including cooling) have previously been unavailable. This limits the statistical quality of the measurements. A temperature-controlled microplate was designed for a 96-well microplate reader to overcome this limitation. This so-called T-microplate is able to control assay temperature between the freezing point of a liquid sample and 60 degrees C with high stability and accuracy in any data acquisition mode. At 4 degrees C the accuracy of the temperature control was +/-0.1 degrees C and temperature homogeneity across the microplate was +/-0.3 degrees C. As examples, analyses of the temperature dependence of Michaelis-Menten (K'(PYR)(m) and substrate inhibition (K'(PYR)(si) constants for pyruvate, of the maximal rate of reaction (V'(max), of the apparent Arrhenius activation energy (E(A), and of the Gibbs free-energy change (deltaG) of lactate dehydrogenases from muscle of Atlantic cod Gadus morhua acclimated to 4 degrees C are described. The large dataset obtained allowed evaluation of a new mechanism of metabolic compensation in response to seasonal temperature change.

A spectrophotometric method for quantification of linear DNA is described. The assay measures ADP produced following digestion of linear DNA by an ATP-dependent deoxyribonuclease. Cleavage of the phosphodiester bond of the DNA substrate is proportional to ADP formed in the reaction which follows typical Michaelis-Menten kinetics (K(m) of 0.6 microM, and a V(max) of 30 nmol/min/mg). The enzyme requires Mg(2+)-ATP and Mg(2+)-DNA as substrates, although the results suggest a requirement for yet another metal ion which may be enzyme bound. Both single-stranded and double-stranded linear DNA are substrates, as demonstrated by comparable initial velocity measurements. However, covalently closed circular (CCC) and nicked open circular DNA are not substrates for the enzyme. The rate of hydrolysis of ATP is not inhibited by 1 microg RNA or covalently closed circular DNA. The product (ADP) formed in the reaction is coupled to NADH oxidation using pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase. NAD formed in the reaction is monitored spectrophotometrically as a loss in absorbance at 340 nm. This assay directly measures the amount of linear DNA present in preparations of supercoiled (CCC) plasmid DNA, and has direct utility for monitoring the quality of plasmid preparations for gene therapy.

The buffer requirements to maintain mitochondrial intactness and membrane potential in in vitro studies were investigated, using gradient purified yeast mitochondria. It was found that the presence of phosphate is crucial for generation of a stable membrane potential and for preserving the intactness of the outer membrane, as assessed by probing the accessibility of Tom40p to trypsin and the leakage of cytochrome b2 from the intermembrane space. Upon addition of respiratory substrate in the absence of phosphate, mitochondria generate a membrane potential that collapses within 1 min. Under the same conditions, the mitochondrial outer membrane is disrupted. The presence of phosphate prevents both phenomena. The DeltapH component of the proton motive force appears to be responsible for the compromised outer membrane integrity. The collapse of the membrane potential is reversible to a limited extent. Only when phosphate is added soon enough after the addition of exogenous respiratory substrate can a stable membrane potential be obtained again. Within a few minutes, this capacity is lost. The presence of Mg(2+) prevents rupture of the outer membrane, but does not prevent rapid dissipation of the membrane potential. Similar results were obtained for mitochondria isolated and stored in the presence of dextran or bovine serum albumin.

A (poly)histidine tag was fused to either the N- or the C-terminus of L-lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) of Bacillus stearothermophilus to facilitate purification and immobilization of these enzymes. The C-terminally tagged enzyme displayed lower activity compared both to the wild-type and to the N-terminally tagged variant. The reason for this loss of activity was investigated by affinity chromatography of the enzymes on a 5'-AMP-Sepharose resin and by size-exclusion chromatography. The C-terminally tagged enzyme could be separated into an inactive, unbound fraction and an active, bound fraction. Further differences between the C-terminally tagged enzyme and the N-terminally tagged and wild-type LDH were observed on size-exclusion chromatography of the three enzymes. These data suggest that the introduction of a "his-tag" at the C-terminus may induce misfolding of the LDH and serve as a warning that the introduction of a (poly)histidine tag can produce unforseen changes in a protein.

The recently identified nicotinamide riboside kinases (Nrks) constitute a distinct pathway of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) biosynthesis. Here we present the combination of an established optical adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) test, the pyruvate kinase/lactate dehydrogenase system, with the Nrk-catalyzed reaction to determine kinetic properties of these enzymes, in particular affinities for ATP. The assay allows variation of both nucleoside and phosphate donor substrates, thereby providing major advantages for the characterization of these enzymes. We confirm previously established kinetic parameters and identify differences in substrate selectivity between the two human Nrk isoforms. The proposed assay is inexpensive and may be applied for high-throughput screening.

We developed a sensitive and nonradioactive fluorometric assay for cyclic guanosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (cGMP). Guanine nucleotides except cGMP were enzymatically phosphorylated to GTP. cGMP, absorbed into a Sep-Pak amino propyl cartridge, was eluted separately from GTP. Purified cGMP was enzymatically converted to GTP, which was applied to the GTP–GDP cycle using succinic thiokinase and pyruvate kinase. When pyruvic acid produced by the GTP–GDP cycle was reduced by lactate dehydrogenase, a reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) was equivalently oxidized to NAD + . NAD + was further converted into fluorescent compound, which was excited at 370 nm and emitted fluorescence at 460 nm, by a strong alkali. When 20 nmol NADH was used for this assay, the calibration curve over 50 to 500 fmol cGMP became sufficiently linear. The detection limit for cGMP was ca. 5 fmol (signal to noise ratio >3). Using this assay, we confirmed that the cGMP content in the left atrial strip of dog was changed from 11.4 ± 3.8 to 19.3 ± 2.6 fmol/mg wet wt of tissue (mean ± SE, n = 6) by electrical driving at 1 Hz. Carbachol (1 μM) further increased the cGMP to 45.6 ± 9.2 fmol/mg wet wt of tissue. From these results, it is suggested that this novel assay for cGMP is highly sensitive and can be applied to various biological samples.

A microplate assay for mevalonate and 5-phosphomevalonate kinase activities has been developed using an enzyme-coupled system of pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase. Mevalonate and 5-phosphomevalonate kinase activities were measured in crude and partially purified enzyme preparations from Catharanthus roseus suspension-cultured plant cells. The assay was validated with respect to protein and substrate concentration. Mevalonate and 5-phosphomevalonate kinase showed Michaelis-Menten kinetics with respect to ATP and their specific substrates; the apparent Km values of mevalonate kinase for ATP and mevalonate were 210 and 65 microM, respectively, and of 5-phosphomevalonate kinase for ATP and 5-phosphomevalonate were 0.41 and 0.4 mM, respectively. Considering mevalonate kinase, the relative standard deviation of enzyme activity within a determination (n = 3) is always less than 2.5% and in between determinations (n = 9) is less than 2%. The method can be used in a continuous assay as well as in a discontinuous assay.

We report automated methods for assaying the activities of the mitochondrial respiratory chain enzyme cytochrome c oxidase (COX), the matrix enzyme citrate synthase (CS), and the cytoplasmic enzyme lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) on a random access analyzer, the Roche Mira S. COX activity was assayed by measuring the initial rate of oxidation of reduced cytochrome c. The CS assay was based on the reaction of this enzyme with oxaloacetate and acetyl-CoA to produce CoASH, which further reacts with dithionitrobenzoic acid producing a free thionitrobenzoate ion. LDH activity was assayed by measuring the reduction of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide during the oxidation of lactate to pyruvate. Precision of the COX assay was 2.3%, CS assay 0.7%, and LDH 5.6%. These automated methods were faster by as much as 80%, cheaper by 50%, and used less than half the sample material needed for traditional manual methods. While these assays are often performed by specialized laboratories using dedicated staff, the automated methods presented here are easily performed by staff trained in the regular diagnostic laboratory.

Catalytic turnover of pyruvate to lactate by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is critical in maintaining an intracellular nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺) pool for continuous fueling of the glycolytic pathway. In this article, we describe two label-free high-throughput assays (a kinetic assay detecting the intrinsic reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) fluorescence and a mass spectrometric assay monitoring the conversion of pyruvate to lactate) that were designed to effectively identify LDH inhibitors, characterize their different mechanisms of action, and minimize potential false positives from a small molecule compound library screen. Using a fluorescence kinetic image-based reader capable of detecting NADH fluorescence in the ultra-high-throughput screening (uHTS) work flow, the enzyme activity was measured as the rate of NADH conversion to NAD⁺. Interference with NADH fluorescence by library compounds was readily identified during the primary screen. The mass spectrometric assay quantitated the lactate and pyruvate levels simultaneously. The multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometric method accurately detected each of the two small organic acid molecules in the reaction mixture. With robust Z' scores of more than 0.7, these two high-throughput assays for LDH are both label free and complementary to each other in the HTS workflow by monitoring the activities of the compounds on each half of the LDH redox reaction.

A kinetic analysis of enzymatic cycling systems covering the whole course of the reaction, i.e., the transient phase and the steady state, is presented. The cost of enzymatic cycling assays is minimalized by using equations to calculate the smallest amount of enzymes which should be used to obtain a given rate constant of the cycle. The model chemical system chosen for illustration purposes involved the determination of pyruvate and/or L -lactate via the coupling of L -lactate dehydrogenase and L -lactate oxidase cycling and NADH mediation. The method is simple although thorough and can be applied to any technique that uses enzymatic cycling.

An in vitro bioassay for the biological action of thyroid hormones has been developed. The test is based on a dose-dependent increase in growth rate and cell activation of the rat pituitary tumor cell line GH3. This cell line is dependent on thyroid hormones for cell division when plated at low density in serum-free medium. The measurement of the cell-stimulating effect of L-triodothyronine (T3) is based on the capacity of mitochondrial enzymes of viable cells to transform the MTT tetrazolium salt into MTT formazan. A dose-dependent response of the MTT signal can be observed within a range from 0.075 to 1 nM T3 in the culture medium. The test is performed in 96-well microplates and allows screening of compounds which may interfere with the action of thyroid hormones.

Malaria, a major burden of disease caused by parasites of the genus Plasmodium, is widely spread in tropical and subtropical regions. Here, we have successfully developed a diagnostic technique for malaria. The proposed method is based on the interaction among the Plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH), which is a biomarker for malaria, and pL1 aptamer against Plasmodium vivax lactate dehydrogenase (PvLDH) and Plasmodium falciparum lactate dehydrogenase (PfLDH). In addition, the cationic polymers, poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) and poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH), aggregate gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) that should be possible to observe the change in color from red to blue, which depends on the concentration of pLDH. Using this aptasensor, pLDH proteins were successfully detected with low detection limits. Moreover, the specificity test proved that the aptasenor is very specific in targeting proteins over other interfering proteins. In addition, the pLDH from infected blood samples of the two main species of malaria were also detected. The limits of detection for P. vivax were determined as 80 parasites/μl for PDDA and 74 parasites/μl for PAH. The aptasenor has great advantages that can simply and rapidly diagnose malaria. Thus, the developed aptasensor for detection of pLDH can offer an effective and sensitive diagnosis of malaria.

A flow injection analysis (FIA) sensor for the oxidation of NADH is reported. The system utilizes a graphite paste electrode modified with the electroactive material tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ). TCNQ acts as an efficient mediator for the oxidation of NADH to biologically active NAD + . Alcohol dehydrogenase/lactate dehydrogenase and NAD + were coimmobilized in TCNQ-modified graphite paste using polyethylenimine to develop a FIA sensor for ethanol/lactate. The system responded rapidly with wide linearity. Response curves for ethanol/lactate and NADH are reported

This paper describes a continuous spectrophotometric assay for glycosyltransferases. In this assay, a nucleotide diphosphate is coupled to NADH oxidation via pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase. The nucleotide diphosphate is produced either directly during the glycosyltransferase mediated reaction, or indirectly by the production of a nucleotide monophosphate during the glycosyltransferase mediated reaction, and subsequent conversion of the nucleotide monophosphate to nucleotide diphosphate using nucleoside monophosphate kinase. Using this assay, kinetic parameters for fucosyl-, sialyl-, and N-acetylglucosaminyltransferases were determined. The assay not only allows continual monitoring of the enzymatic reaction, but is rapid and allows the processing of 96 samples at once since it is performed in 96-well microtiter plates. In addition, the procedure provides a means of monitoring the activity of these enzymes using sugar-nucleotide donor analogs, where radiochemical procedures cannot be used.

We offer a novel graphical method for determining the number of essential sites in enzymes that contain multiple binding sites for a ligand. This method is applicable both to monomeric enzymes containing multiple "unspecific" sites (for protons, metal ions, etc.) and to oligomeric enzymes containing multiple "specific" sites (for substrates and their cognate analogues). The overall procedure is based on some of the intrinsic properties of the general rate equation for enzyme-catalyzed reactions involving multiple binding sites for Iigands as elaborated by W. G. Bardsley and R. E. Childs ( Biochem. J. , 149, 313-328, 1975). The experimental protocol involves measurement of initial rates of enzyme-catalyzed reactions either at varying concentrations of the substrate or at a fixed concentration of the substrate and varying concentrations of effectors (activator or inhibitor). The data are analyzed by plotting 1/ v [L] p versus [L] (for inhibition) and [L] p / v versus 1/[L] (for activation) for different (integral) increments of p (such as 0, 1, 2, 3, . . . etc.). According to the analytical procedure developed herein, the magnitude of p that yields a horizontal asymptote on these plots serves as the quantitative measure of the number of essential sites in enzyme molecules. By employing this procedure, we have been able to quantitatively ascertain the number of essential sites required for the activation or inhibition of a variety of monomeric and oligomeric enzymes. Among monomeric enzymes we have established that: (i) of the three binding sites for linoleic acid in the lipoxygenase molecule, one site is essential for catalysis, and the other two sites are inhibitory; (ii) of several plausible protonation sites in the α-chymotrypsin molecule, only one protonation site is required for the activation of the enzyme; and (iii) there are two inhibitory sites for guanidine-HCl per ribonuclease A molecule; the enzyme is fully inhibited upon binding of guanidine-HCl at any of these two sites. Among oligomericenzymes, we have discerned that: (i) the individual subunits of LDH and phosphorylase b are catalytically active, and (ii) the catalytic/functional unit of the creatine kinase molecule is likely to be the dimeric subunit. The theoretical details leading to the graphical analysis and its usage in delineating the functional stoichiometry of enzyme-ligand complexes are discussed.

A highly sensitive electrophoretic separation of lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes in 150-microns ultrathin-layer polyacrylamide gels is described. By means of the incorporation of miniature-sized wells into the gel and by executing all the analytical steps under paraffin oil, this technique allows the exact and sharp separation of the lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes in nanogram-sized microdissected liver tissue samples. With this method the heterogeneous distribution pattern of lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes in the liver acinus of various mammals could be demonstrated, and a new interpretation of their functional roles is offered.

Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) has high affinity to both Toyopearl HW-40 and Sephadex G-25 gel. FITC-labeled amino acids showed no affinity for Sephadex G-25 whereas FITC-labeled proteins had no affinity. They were eluted in the order FITC-labeled proteins, FITC-labeled amino acids, and free FITC from a small combined column of Sephadex G-25/Toyopearl HW-40, which was prepared by layering a small volume of Toyopearl HW-40 gel on top of a larger volume of Sephadex G-25 gel. These findings were applied to analyzing the degradation of various unlabeled native proteins including L-lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and rat serum albumin by total lysosomal enzymes in vitro. After degradation, proteins and amino acids released from a substrate protein were labeled with FITC and eluted through the small combined column. FITC-labeled amino acids were easily separated from FITC-labeled proteins and free FITC, and their production increased with degradation time and was markedly suppressed by the proteinase inhibitor leupeptin. The degradation of native LDH was also accompanied by inactivation and the disappearance of the 35-kDa subunit. This procedure is a simple and useful method for studying the proteolytic degradation of various unlabeled proteins by total lysosomal enzymes.

A flow-injected thermometric enzyme linked immunoassay for human insulin which employs the lactate dehydrogenase/lactate oxidase (LDH/LOD) substrate recycling system for signal amplification is described. The system is composed of two columns, an immunosorbent column containing immobilized anti-insulin antibodies for sensing and a recycling column containing immobilized LDH/LOD/Catalase for detection. The effect of flow rates, conjugate concentrations, and chromatographic support material upon the sensitivity of the assay are investigated. The assay has a detection limit of 0.025 microgram/ml and a linear range from 0.05 to 2 micrograms/ml. This corresponds to a 10-fold increase in sensitivity over the unamplified system. A recombinant human insulin-proinsulin conjugate was also tested. The results show that enzymatic amplification can be employed to increase the sensitivity and reproducibility of flow injection assay-based biosensors. The implications of these results upon on-line analysis are discussed.

A fluorimetric assay for n-lactate in human blood samples was developed using an endpoint enzymatic assay with d -lactate dehydrogenase from Staphylococcus epidermidis . The intrabatch and interbatch coefficients of variance were 8.7% ( n = 4) and 16.6% ( n = 4), respectively. The limit of detection in blood was 3.73 nmol/ml. The assay suffers minor interference from S - d -lactoylglutathione, which was also present in the blood samples. The concentration of n-lactate in blood was (mean ± SE, nmol/ml) normal healthy individuals, 11.0 ± 1.2 ( n = 7); and diabetic patients, 20.0 ± 1.3 ( n = 55) (a significant increase in diabetes mellitus; P U test).

Fluorescence titration has been used to determine the binding constant and number of binding sites for the textile triazine dye Procion Yellow HE-3G to lactate dehydrogenase from rabbit muscle (E.C. 1.1.1.27). Triazine dye was either free in solution or attached to one of the polymer carriers, polyethylene glycol or dextran. Titrations were performed in solutions of buffer, dextran, and polyethylene glycol. Aqueous two-phase systems composed of polyethylene glycol and dextran were prepared and the binding constant and number of binding sites for ligand polyethylene glycol-Procion Yellow to lactate dehydrogenase were determined in both upper and lower phases of these systems. Affinity partition of lactate dehydrogenase in a PEG-dextran system was also performed using PEG-Procion Yellow as ligand, and partition coefficients of lactate dehydrogenase showed good agreement with theoretical partition coefficients calculated from the binding constant and number of binding sites obtained from fluorescence titration. The advantage of using fluorescence titration to determine affinity of a polymer ligand for a protein is that measurement of binding strength can be made in the actual environment encountered by protein-ligand complex during the purification process.

The pyruvate kinase assay for ATPases suffers from major systematic errors due to the variable amounts of the inhibitory product, ADP, present as the rates change. A simple method is presented to estimate the true uninhibited rates and the ADP inhibition constant for the ATPase.

The NAD analog 3-acetylpyridine adenine nucleotide (APAD), because of its higher oxidation potential, has proven useful for the direct enzymatic measurement of such compounds as lactate, malate, glutamate, etc., for which the equilibrium with NAD+ as oxidant is unfavorable. An enzymatic cycling method which is capable of increasing the sensitivity of such reactions 10,000-fold or more is described. The APADH produced in the original stoichiometric reaction is used to catalyze a cycling reaction that employs lactate and malate dehydrogenases (EC 1.1.1.27 and EC 1.1.1.37) to generate (from lactate plus oxalacetate) very large quantities of pyruvate and malate. After the cycling step, the malate formed is measured with NAD+ and with malate dehydrogenase, plus aspartate aminotransferase, and oxaloacetate to pull this indicator reaction to completion. The application of this cycling method is illustrated by analysis of malate in the range 1 to 10 pmol.

The aim of this study was the development of an in vitro bioassay that combines several endpoints of general cytotoxicity for the screening of compounds or mixtures of compounds with potential bioactivity. The Alamar Blue assay was employed to assess metabolic activity, the Neutral Red assay was used for the assessment of membrane function and lysosomal activity, and the lactate dehydrogenase leakage assay was employed for the assessment of membrane integrity. Each assay was performed separately and in combination using a human fibroblast cell line (MRC-5). Three fungal secondary metabolites of different chemistry that affect different cellular targets were tested as model compounds: deoxynivalenol, enniatin B1, and 2-amino-14,16-dimethyloctadecan-3-ol. The obtained inhibitive compound concentrations for the assays performed separately and in combination were not significantly different (P < 0.05, n = 9). The combination of several cytotoxicity endpoints in a single assay increases the chance that potential bioactive/cytotoxic compounds are discovered during the screening of mixtures of natural compounds (e.g., extracts from fungal cultures or plants) when one endpoint fails and, at the same time, might give some basic information on the cellular target.

d -Serine is localized in the mammalian forebrain and modulates brain functions as a coagonist of an N-methyl- d -aspartate receptor. d -Serine is also found in human urine, although its physiological meaning is unclear. A method for rapid and simple assay of d -serine is probably useful for studying its physiological role and clinical relevance. Currently, d -serine is assayed by high-performance liquid chromatography after derivatization of the amino acid to a diastereomer. The method is time consuming and requires expensive equipment. In this study, we developed a rapid and simple method for the d -serine assay using d -serine dehydratase newly found in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The yeast d -serine dehydratase acts dominantly on d -serine, in contrast with previously reported bacterial enzymes that act on both d - and l -serine. In our method, pyruvate produced from d -serine by the dehydratase reaction is assayed with lactic dehydrogenase and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide or with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine. Our enzymatic method could be used for the quantitative determination of d -serine in human urine.

Carboxypeptidase U (CPU, TAFIa) is a novel determinant of the fibrinolytic rate. It circulates in blood as an inactive zymogen, procarboxypeptidase U, which is activated during the process of coagulation and fibrinolysis. CPU has a very short half-life at 37 degrees C. Its intrinsic instability complicates the determination of kinetic parameters of different substrates using an endpoint method. We developed a fast kinetic assay for measuring continuously the release of the C-terminal arginine by CPU independent of the nature of the substrate peptide used, allowing us to perform substrate specificity studies of CPU. This method uses arginine kinase, pyruvate kinase, and lactate dehydrogenase as auxiliary enzymes. The CPU activities measured using this kinetic assay were in the range of 97-103% of those determined with our HPLC-assisted reference assay, and the obtained K(m) and k(cat) values for hippuryl-l-arginine and bradykinin were in good accordance with those described in the literature. As expected, no arginine cleaving was seen using dipeptides and peptide substrates with a proline in the penultimate position. The presented kinetic assay enables the fast screening of substrates with a C-terminal arginine and is a valuable new tool for the kinetic evaluation of both synthetic and physiological substrates of CPU.

We report an assay for the determination of the activity of 4-diphosphocytidyl-2-C-methyl-D-erythritol kinase, the enzyme which catalyzes the fourth reaction step of the 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate pathway for the synthesis of isoprenoids, which is based on the spectrophotometrical determination of adenosine 5'-diphosphate using pyruvate kinase and L-lactate dehydrogenase as auxiliary enzymes. This method can be adapted to microtiter plates, can be automated, and because of its simplicity and speed can be useful for the functional characterization of the enzyme and for the screening of inhibitors with potential antibiotic or antimalarial action.

The assessment of cell concentration and viability of freshly isolated hepatocyte preparations has been traditionally performed using manual counting with a Neubauer counting chamber and staining for trypan blue exclusion. Despite the simple and rapid nature of this assessment, concerns about the accuracy of these methods exist. Simple flow cytometry techniques which determine cell concentration and viability are available yet surprisingly have not been extensively used or validated with isolated hepatocyte preparations. We therefore investigated the use of flow cytometry using TRUCOUNT Tubes and propidium iodide staining to measure cell concentration and viability of isolated rat hepatocytes in suspension. Analysis using TRUCOUNT Tubes provided more accurate and reproducible measurement of cell concentration than manual cell counting. Hepatocyte viability, assessed using propidium iodide, correlated more closely than did trypan blue exclusion with all indicators of hepatocyte integrity and function measured (lactate dehydrogenase leakage, cytochrome P450 content, cellular ATP concentration, ammonia and lactate removal, urea and albumin synthesis). We conclude that flow cytometry techniques can be used to measure cell concentration and viability of isolated hepatocyte preparations. The techniques are simple, rapid, and more accurate than manual cell counting and trypan blue staining and the results are not affected by protein-containing media.

A simple method to determine the in vitro catalytic turnover constant of several substrates of herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase is presented in this study. The method is based on a continuous spectroscopic enzyme-coupled assay and allows one to monitor the herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase activity in the presence of unlabeled substrates. A clear correlation between the catalytic turnover constant and the rate of decrease in absorbance over time during the assay has been demonstrated. Exploiting this correlation, this method has been used to determine rapidly and precisely the catalytic turnover constant of antiviral lead compounds not readily available in the radioactive labeled form.

An assay for d -lactate ( d -Lac) is described where d -Lac in the presence of NAD+is equilibrated to NADH and pyruvate (Pyr) byLeuconostoc mesenteroides d -lactate dehydrogenase (DLDH). This assay was standardized using known concentrations of d -Lac and a linearized form of the equilibrium expression. The assay has a lower limit of about 20 μM d -Lac in a 1 ml assay mixture (20 nmol d -Lac). As a demonstration of this assay method it is used to characterize the hydrolysis of the standard penicillin-binding protein/ dd -carboxypeptidase substrate Ac2- l -Lys- d -Ala- d -Lac by penicillin-binding protein 5 fromEscherichia coli.The approach adopted here of using an inherently nonlinear response, which however follows precisely determinable physical behavior, has the advantages of providing a wider dynamic range and increased relative precision over analogous linear response-based methods. This approach may be applicable to the development of other enzyme-based assay methods.

A microdialysis technique combined with a push–pull pump was applied for monitoring protein dynamics in the liver. A newly developed probe has a 0.34 × 10-mm (membrane thickness, 0.05 mm) dialysis membrane of polysulfon and can allow the passage of molecules of up to approximately a few hundred kilodaltons in molecular weight. The probe was inserted in the liver of a rat under pentobarbital anesthesia. Perfusion medium (phosphate-buffered saline) was pumped through the microdialysis probe and collected every 15 min. Effect of ischemic treatment of the protein constitution and the activity of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in dialysate were determined to confirm the accuracy of the present technique. The protein constitute in preischemic dialysate differed from those obtained in the serum and hepatic homogenate, showing that the dialysate reflected extracellular protein. LDH activity was high immediately after insertion of the probe, decreased constantly, and then reached a plateau of a relatively low level. When transit ischemic treatment (for 15 min) was performed by ligation of both hepatic artery and portal vein, LDH activity increased significantly, which continued for over 5 h. The concentration of albumin in the dialysate increased immediately after the ischemia. Such changes in LDH activity and albumin concentration reflected ischemic change, and the newly developed technique may be useful for the monitoring of extracellular dynamics of proteins with molecular weight less than 200 kDa.

Brain lysosomes were isolated from rat cerebra by Percoll density gradient centrifugation. The lysosomes had little and no contamination by marker enzymes from mitochondria and other organellae, respectively, and the yield was approximately 14% of the postnuclear supernatant. The activities of cathespins B, L, and/or J were similar to those of liver or kidney lysosomes, but the levels of cathepsin H activity were much lower than those of liver or kidney lysosomes. The degradation of native L-lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and rat serum albumin by the isolated brain lysosomes in vitro was markedly suppressed by a low level of the cysteine proteinase inhibitor cystatin α, with slight inhibition of the activities of cathepsins B, L, and/or J. The degradation of rat serum albumin was also considerably inhibited by N-(L-3-trans-propylcarbamoyloxirane-2-carbonyl)-L-isoleucyl-L-proline (CA-074), a selective inhibitor of cathepsin B. In contrast, the degradation of brain proteins from the postmitochondrial supernatant by the same brain lysosomes was not or little suppressed by the same concentration of either inhibitor. However, it was considerably suppressed by leupeptin with marked inhibition of the activities of cathepsins B, L, and/or J, and with only slight inhibition of cathepsin H, indicating that cysteine proteinases that are highly sensitive to leupeptin are involved in the lysosomal degradation of the brain proteins. It was also moderately suppressed by pepstatin, an inhibitor of cathepsin D and was almost completely suppressed by a combination of leupeptin and pepstatin. It is suggested that leupeptin-sensitive cysteine proteinases, probably distinct from cathepsins B and H, and pepstatin-sensitive aspartic proteinase(s) are both involved in lysosomal degradation of the proteins localized in the postmitochondrial supernatant of the brain.

A spectrophotometric assay for ureidoglycolase activity (both ureidoglycolate lyase and hydrolase), based on the reduction of glyoxylate to glycolate catalyzed by glyoxylate reductase or lactate dehydrogenase with the stoichiometric and continuous NADH oxidation, is described. The assay has been optimized for the amount of coupling enzyme, reagent concentrations, buffers, and the nonenzymatic degradation of ureidoglycolate. Under optimal assay conditions, ureidoglycolase activity can be followed with either lactate dehydrogenase or glyoxylate reductase as coupling enzyme and reaction can be started by addition of substrate or enzyme extract. Once the reaction was started, NADH oxidation was linear with time after a lag phase of 1-2 min. This linear NADH oxidation was directly proportional to enzyme concentration in the assay mixture until changes in absorbance of 0.12 per minute. This method is easy and reliable for the accurate determination of ureidoglycolase activity in crude and purified extracts from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cells and no notable interferences have been detected. Since lactate dehydrogenase is much cheaper and has a lower Km for its substrate than glyoxylate reductase and can be used as supplied, its use as the coupling enzyme of choice is recommended.