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A sheep antiserum against purified rabbit-heart adenylate deaminase (EC 3.5.4.6) (AMPD) was developed and validated as an immunologic probe to assess the cross-species tissue distribution of the mammalian cardiac AMPD isoform. The antiserum and the antibodies purified therefrom recognized both native and denatured rabbit-heart AMPD in immunoprecipitation and immunoblot experiments, respectively, and antibody binding did not affect native enzyme activity. The immunoprecipitation experiments further demonstrated a high antiserum titer. Immunoblot analysis of either crude rabbit-heart extracts or purified rabbit-heart AMPD revealed a major immunoreactive band with the molecular mass (approximately 81 kDa) of the soluble rabbit-heart AMPD subunit. AMPD in heart extracts from mammalian species other than rabbit (including human) was equally immunoreactive with this antiserum by quantitative immunoblot criteria. Although generally held to be in the same isoform class as heart AMPD, erythrocyte AMPD was not immunoreactive either within or across species. Nor was AMPD from most other tissues [e.g., white (gastrocnemius) muscle, lung, kidney] immunoreactive with the cardiac-directed antibody. Limited immunoreactivity was evidenced by mammalian liver, red (soleus) muscle, and brain extracts across species, indicating the presence of a minor cardiac(-like) AMPD isoform in these tissues. The results of this study characterize the tissue distribution of the cardiac AMPD isoform using a molecular approach with the first polyclonal antibodies prepared against homogeneous cardiac AMPD. This immunologic probe should prove useful at the tissue level for AMPD immunohistochemistry.

Adenylate deaminase (EC 3.5.4.6) may help to regulate the adenine nucleotide catabolism characteristic of such disease states as myocardial ischaemia. We report analysis of the molecular, kinetic and allosteric properties of rabbit heart adenylate deaminase when extracted and purified under phosphate-free conditions (i.e., with Hepes/KOH). The enzyme's subunit molecular mass (approximately 81 kDa), pI (6.5), substrate specificity for 5'-AMP, and activation by K+ were identical in the absence or presence of phosphate. At each chromatographic step during isolation without phosphate, cardiac adenylate deaminase showed a lower apparent activity as compared with the enzyme prepared with phosphate present. Kinetic constants for the phosphate-free rabbit heart adenylate deaminase preparation (Km 0.54 mM AMP; Vmax. 1.4 mumol/min per mg of protein) were approximately 10-fold lower than those of the enzyme isolated with phosphate. The same irreversible decrease in kinetic constants could be achieved by dialysing phosphate from the phosphate-containing enzyme preparation. The relationship between enzyme activity and substrate concentration was sigmoidal in the presence of phosphate, but hyperbolic in its absence. Cardiac adenylate deaminase under phosphate-free conditions was no longer allosterically activated by ATP and ADP, yet remained inhibitable by GTP. Enzyme inhibition by the transition-state mimic coformycin was not influenced by phosphate status. The phosphate-free preparation of rabbit heart adenylate deaminase was markedly labile and extremely susceptible to proteolysis by trypsin or chymotrypsin. The inactivation kinetics and fragmentation pattern in response to controlled proteolysis depended on whether the enzyme had been isolated with or without phosphate present, suggesting a conformational difference between the two enzyme preparations. These data constitute direct evidence that the absence of phosphate irreversibly converts cardiac adenylate deaminase into a pseudo-isoenzyme with distinct kinetic, regulatory and stability properties.

A novel pathway for physiological "cross-talk" between the insulin receptor and the regulatory Gi-protein has been demonstrated. We tested the hypothesis that a coupling defect between Gi and the insulin receptor is present in the liver of obese patients with and without type II diabetes. Insulin 1 x 10(-9) M (approximately ED50) and 1 x 10(-7) M (Max) inhibited pertussis toxin-catalyzed ADP ribosylation of Gi in human liver plasma membranes from lean and obese nondiabetic patients. However, 1 x 10(-7) M insulin was without effect in membranes from patients with type II diabetes. This coupling defect was not intrinsic to Gi, since Mg2+ and GTP gamma S inhibited pertussis toxin-catalyzed ADP ribosylation in both diabetic and nondiabetic patients. Binding of insulin of the alpha-subunit and activation of the tyrosine kinase intrinsic to the beta-subunit of the insulin receptor are not responsible for the coupling defect. 125I insulin binding is the same in obese patients with or without diabetes. Tyrosine kinase of the insulin receptor is decreased in diabetes. However, a monoclonal antibody to the insulin receptor (MA-20) at equimolar concentrations with insulin equally inhibits pertussis toxin-catalyzed ADP ribosylation of Gi without activating tyrosine kinase or insulin receptor autophosphorylation. Immunodetection of G-proteins suggested that Gi3 alpha was normal in diabetes and Gi1-2 alpha was decreased by 40% in the diabetic group as compared to the obese nondiabetic group but was normal when compared to the lean non diabetic group. We conclude that the novel pathway of insulin signaling involving the regulatory Gi proteins via biochemical mechanisms not directly involving the tyrosine kinase of the insulin receptor is altered in obese type II diabetes and offers a new target for the search of the mechanism(s) of insulin resistance.

Using AMP deaminase (AMP aminohydrolase; EC 3.5.4.6) purified from rabbit left-ventricular heart tissue, we report direct investigation of the potential for cardiac AMP deaminase activity to be regulated by kinase-mediated phosphorylation. Rabbit heart AMP deaminase served as a substrate for Ca2+/phospholipid-dependent protein kinase (protein kinase C; PKC) exclusively; no other mammalian protein kinase phosphorylated the enzyme. PKC-dependent AMP deaminase phosphorylation was rapid, linear with respect to time and the concentrations of PKC and AMP deaminase in the reaction, and inhibitable by staurosporine. Upon phosphorylation, the apparent Km of cardiac AMP deaminase decreased from 5.6 mM to 1.2 mM, without effect on the Vmax. Whether phosphorylated or not, rabbit heart AMP deaminase was inhibited by 1.0 mM GTP, which decreased the Vmax. by approximately 50% in each case. PKC-dependent phosphorylation of cardiac AMP deaminase did not alter the enzyme's allosterism toward millimolar ATP or ADP: both nucleotides at 1.0 mM concentration decreased the apparent Km to approximately 0.5 mM. Treatment of cardiac phospho-AMP deaminase with either the protein phosphatase calcineurin or alkaline phosphatase generated a dephosphorylated form which displayed molecular and kinetic properties identical with those of the originally isolated enzyme. These data raise the possibility that a phosphorylation-dephosphorylation mechanism may regulate flux through AMP deaminase in the heart under pathological conditions, such as myocardial ischaemia, characterized by PKC activation and adenylate depletion.

AMP deaminase (AMP aminohydrolase, EC 3.5.4.6) is a ubiquitous enzyme in eukaryotes, which may play a role in ATP catabolism during myocardial ischaemia. We report isolation of AMP deaminase from rabbit myocardium with a 19% recovery and a 650-fold enrichment, using a newly devised protocol involving sequential cation-exchange, gel-permeation and affinity chromatographies. The cardiac AMP deaminase preparation described was electrophoretically and chromatographically homogeneous and contained one unique N-terminal residue (leucine). The isolated enzyme was sensitive to various cations (K+, Mg2+, Ca2+). The pH optimum of purified cardiac AMP deaminase was 6.8, its pI was 6.5, and it displayed substrate-specificity toward 5'-AMP. The subunit molecular mass of rabbit heart AMP deaminase on SDS/PAGE (81 kDa) and the holoenzyme molecular mass as estimated by non-denaturing size-exclusion h.p.l.c. (330 kDa) indicated that the native enzyme was a tetramer. Cardiac AMP deaminase displayed a sigmoidal substrate-saturation curve in the presence of 100 mM KCl. Apparent Michaelis constants were a Km of 5.8 mM AMP and a Vmax. of 11.1 mumol/min per mg of protein. ATP and ADP were positive allosteric effectors of cardiac AMP deaminase: the apparent Km was decreased to 1.7 mM by 1.0 mM ATP. The enzyme was inhibited by GTP, coformycin, coformycin 5'-phosphate, palmitoyl-CoA, inorganic phosphate compounds, and the metal chelator o-phenanthroline. No inhibition either by product nucleotide (IMP) or by nicotinamide nucleotides was detected when these agents were examined at concentrations up to 2.5 mM. We conclude that this enzyme preparation offers a means by which the kinetic mechanism and regulation of mammalian cardiac AMP deaminase may be directly investigated.

The enzyme 5'-nucleotidase (5'-ribonucleotide phosphohydrolase, EC 3.1.3.5) catalyzes a critical reaction in intermediary metabolism, the phosphohydrolysis of nucleoside 5'-monophosphates to their corresponding nucleosides. We have evaluated solid-phase extraction on pre-packed anion-exchange cartridges as a chromatographic technique with which 5'-nucleotidase activity may be detected and quantified. Chromatographic conditions were established whereby substrate nucleotide was rapidly and completely separated from its corresponding nucleoside by solid-phase extraction. Both analytes were recovered quantitatively, without loss or degradation. This chromatographic system was integrated into a discontinuous radiochemical assay for 5'-nucleotidase which enabled both substrate utilization and product formation to be assessed simultaneously. Enzyme reaction samples could be analyzed directly for 5'-nucleotidase activity without any pre-chromatography preparation. The high capacity of the solid-phase cartridges and the inability of 5'-nucleotidase to enter the packing bed during analyte elution facilitated termination of the enzyme reaction by applying the entire reaction mixture to the cartridge. Loaded cartridges could then be stored at 4 degrees C prior to chromatography and subsequently batch-eluted. The excellent resolution between substrate and product in solid-phase extraction and the sensitivity of radioisotopic counting enabled detection/quantification of low tissue levels of 5'-nucleotidase in conjunction with ancillary assays for secondary enzyme reactions with the potential to elicit the artifactual loss of 5'-nucleotidase substrate/product when crude biological preparations are examined for 5'-nucleotidase activity. Our results demonstrate that solid-phase extraction on anion-exchange cartridges with elution solvents of appropriate pH offers several unique advantages for 5'-nucleotidase determination.

Phospholipase A activity was measured in homogenates and acid extracts of smooth muscle cells from rat aorta and mesenteric artery using [1-14 C]oleate-labeled autoclaved Escherichia coli and 1-[1-14C]stearyl-2-acyl-3-sn-glycerophosphorylethanolamine as substrates. The results demonstrate the presence of neutral-active phospholipase(s) A that exclusively catalyze the release of fatty acid from the 2-position of phospholipids. Optimal activity was at pH 7.5, and there was an absolute requirement for low concentrations of Ca2+. Mg2+ did not substitute for Ca2+, and EGTA inhibited the activity. Phospholipase A2 activity was predominantly membrane-associated and was solubilized by homogenization in 0.18 N H2SO4. Sulfuric acid extracts of rat aortic smooth muscle cells were four times more active than extracts of mesenteric artery (710 vs. 170 nmol/h per mg protein). By comparison, acid extracts of rat lung, heart, and liver were less active (60-75 nmol/h per mg). Indomethacin, sodium meclofenamate, mepacrine and chlorpromazine, but not dexamethasone or aspirin, inhibited acid-solubilized phospholipase(s) A2 between 10(-6) and 10(-3) M in a dose-dependent manner. Preincubation with p-bromophenacyl bromide or diethylpyrocarbonate inhibited phospholipase(s) A2, suggesting the presence of a histidine residue at the active site. An extract from the leaves of feverfew plant (Tanacetum parthenium) was also a potent inhibitor of aortic smooth muscle phospholipase(s) A2.

The effects of isoproterenol, acetylcholine (Ach), and adenosine, on cyclic AMP (cAMP) and cyclic GMP (cGMP) contents were examined in chick hearts at various stages of embryonic development. The basal cAMP content was highest (87.7 +/- 1.3 pmol/mg protein) in young (3-day) embryonic chick hearts and decreased during development (9.6 +/- 0.6 pmol/mg protein in 9-19-day-old hearts). On the other hand, the cGMP content was lowest (45.5 +/- 2.3 fmol/mg protein) in young (3-day) embryonic chick hearts and increased during development (338 +/- 15.0 fmol/mg protein in 14-19-day-old hearts). Iso increased the cAMP concentration in embryonic hearts at all ages. Ach and Ado had no effect on the cAMP content at all ages. However, the Isoproterenol-induced stimulation of cAMP was inhibited by Ach and Adenosine at all ages. In young embryonic hearts, Ach and Ado increased cGMP concentration only slightly, whereas these agents caused a substantial increase in cGMP concentration in the older hearts. Thus, there was a clear age difference in the effects of Ach and Adenosine on the cGMP and cAMP concentrations. Nitroprusside and hydrogen peroxide increased cGMP concentration in older hearts (greater than 5-day-old) but not in the 3-day-old embryonic hearts. Thus, guanylate cyclase activity may be low in young (3-day-old) hearts. It summary, the cGMP level is very low in young embryonic chick hearts, and increases markedly during development. The changes in cGMP are reciprocal to those of cAMP.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The partial characterization of a calcium-dependent phospholipase A2 associated with membranes of mouse sperm is described. Intact and sonicated sperm had comparable phospholipase A2 activity which was maximal at pH 8.0 using [1-14C]oleate-labeled autoclaved Escherichia coli or 1-[1-14C]stearoyl-2-acyl-3-sn-glycerophosphorylethanolamine as substrates. More than 90% of the activity was sedimented when the sperm sonicate was centrifuged at 100 000 X g, indicating that the enzyme is almost totally membrane-associated. The activity is stimulated 200% during the ionophore-induced acrosome reaction and is almost equally distributed between plasma/outer acrosomal and inner acrosomal membrane fractions. The membrane-associated phospholipase A2 had an absolute requirement for low concentrations of Ca2+; Sr2+, Mg2+ and other divalent and monovalent cations would not substitute for Ca2+. In the presence of optimal Ca2+, zinc and gold ions inhibited the activity while Cu2+ and Cd2+ were without effect. Incubation of sperm sonicates with 1-[1-14C]stearoyl-2-acyl-3-sn-glycerophosphorylethanolamine in the presence and absence of sodium deoxycholate demonstrated the presence of phospholipase A2 and lysophospholipase activities. No phospholipase A1 activity was detectable. Indomethacin, sodium meclofenamate and mepacrine, but not dexamethasone or aspirin, inhibited the sperm phospholipase A2 activity. Preincubation with p-bromophenacyl bromide inhibited phospholipase A2, suggesting the presence of histidine at the active site. The enzyme may play an important role in the membrane fusion events in fertilization.

Phospholipase A2 activity in sonicates and acid extracts of ejaculated, washed human sperm was measured using [1-14C] oleate-labeled autoclaved E. coli and 1-[1-14C] stearoyl-2-acyl-3-sn- glycerophosphorylethanolamine as substrates. Phospholipase A was optimally active at pH 7.5, was calcium-dependent, and exclusively catalyzed the release of fatty acid from the 2-position of phospholipids. The activity was membrane-associated, and was solubilized by extraction with 0.18 N H2SO4. Acid extracts of human sperm had the highest specific activity (1709 nmols /h per mg), followed by mouse, rabbit and bull, which were 105, 36 and 1.7 nmols /h per mg, respectively. para-bromophenacyl bromide inhibited human sperm phospholipase A2 activity, but mepacrine was without effect. In the presence of 1.0 mM added CaCl2, phospholipase A2 activity was inhibited by Zn2+ and Mn2+; whereas Cu2+, Cd2+, Mg2+, or Sr2+ had no effect. Zn2+ stimulated activity at low concentrations (10(-6) to 10(-8) M), and inhibited activity in a dose-dependent manner at concentrations of 10(-5) M. The extent of stimulation by low concentrations of Zn2+ was dependent on Ca2+ concentration; at 10(-7) M, Zn2+ activity was stimulated 160% with 0.5 mM CaCl2, and only 120% with 1.0 mM CaCl2. At low concentrations (10(-5) to 10(-7) M), methoxyverapamil (D600) and trifluoperazine stimulated human sperm phospholipase A2 activity, and trifluoperazine but not D600 produced almost complete inhibition between 10(-5) and 10(-4) M of the drug. The significance of human sperm phospholipase A2 activity and its modulation by Ca2+, Zn2+ and Mn2+ in the sperm acrosome reaction is discussed.