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G Goracci

Publications and source records attributed to G Goracci.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

A comparison of the reversibility of phosphoethanolamine transferase and phosphocholine transferase in rat brain microsomes.

The reversibility of phosphoethanolamine transferase (EC 2.7.8.1) in rat brain is demonstrated in this paper. Microsomal ethanolamine glycerophospholipids were prelabeled with an intracerebral injection of [3H]ethanolamine 4 h before killing young rats. Labeled CDPethanolamine was produced by incubation of the microsomes with CMP, although to a lesser extent than for the previously observed release of CDPcholine. Ethanolamine and choline glycerophospholipids were labeled with [2-3H]glycerol by incubation with primary cultures of rat brain. Microsomes from rat brains, with diisopropyl phosphofluoridate for inhibition of lipases, were incubated with the labeled glycerophospholipids separately, and labeled diacylglycerols were produced. The kinetic parameters of phosphoethanolamine transferase and phosphocholine transferase (EC 2.7.8.2) were compared by incubating rat brain microsomes with [3H]CMP. Inclusion of AMP in the reaction mixture was necessary in order to inhibit the hydrolysis of CMP by an enzyme with the properties of 5'-nucleotidase (EC 3.1.3.5). For phosphoethanolamine transferase and phosphocholine transferase respectively, the Km values for CMP were 40 and 125 microM and the V values were 2.3 and 21.6 nmol/h per mg protein. The reversibility of both enzymes permits the interconversion of the diacylglycerol moieties of choline and ethanolamine glycerophospholipids. During brain ischemia, a principal pathway for degradation of ethanolamine glycerophospholipids may be by reversal of phosphoethanolamine transferase followed by hydrolysis of diacylglycerols by the lipase.

5'-Nucleotidase↗

Chronic effects of trichloroethylene upon S-100 protein content and lipid composition in gerbil cerebellum.

Gerbil rats were exposed to trichloroethylene (TCE) vapors intermittently (8 h/d) at 510 ppm or continuously at 170 ppm for five months. The cerebellar content of S-100 protein and the phospholipid fatty-acid profiles were determined. S-100 protein, a possible marker for astrocytic reactivity, indicated delayed astrocytic reactivity in the anterior cerebellar hemisphere and a decrease of S-100 protein in the posterior cerebellar vermis. Minor lipid changes were observed. The fatty-acid profiles of ethanolamine phosphoglycerides showed a tendency towards alterations among the 22-carbon fatty acids, with a decrease in 22:5 (N-3), similar to those shown earlier for cerebral cortex and hippocampus of the gerbil. Two monoenoic fatty acids were decreased, the 20:1 of phosphatidyl-ethanolamine and the 18:1 of the phosphatidyl-serine. This occurrence could indicate a decrease in myelin in areas where these two fatty acids were found to be enriched.

Animals↗

The effect of CMP on the release of free fatty acids of rat brain in vitro.

With CMP, phosphatidylcholine can be converted to diacylglycerols and CDPcholine by reversal of the cholinephosphotransferase that is normally used for synthesis. Incubation of homogenates of rat brains at pH 8 with 20 mM MgCl2 increased the free fatty acid (FFA) levels 30 to 117%. The FFA levels increased 62 to 212% when 4 mM CMP was included. Diacylglycerols were also produced. Hydrolysis of the diacylglycerols to FFA was markedly inhibited by inclusion of 3 mM diisopropylphosphofluoridate in the incubation mixture. The composition of the fatty acids released by CMP resembles that of phosphatidylcholine except for some polyunsaturated fatty acids. These may have been released from the ethanolamine glycerophospholipids. Most of the CMP-stimulated release of FFA was blocked by inclusion of 1 mM CDPcholine in the incubation mixture. Rat brains were labeled by intracerebral injection of [3H]oleic acid. The labeled oleic acid was released primarily from phosphatidylcholine. Thus, measurements of both mass and radioactivity confirm that the reversal of cholinephosphotransferase followed by diacylglycerol lipase can be an important pathway for the liberation of FFA from phosphatidylcholine.

Animals↗

Cholinephosphotransferase activity in human platelets.

Disrupted human platelets possess a cholinephosphotransferase activity (EC 2.7.8.2) whose properties have been studied in this work. The labeling of choline glycerophospholipid (CGP) from radioactive cytidine-5'-diphosphate choline (CDP-choline) in vitro shows a maximum at pH 8.0 (using Hepes [4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-piperazine-1-ethane-2-sulfonic acid] as a buffer) and is stimulated by Mn2+, Mg2+ and diacylglycerol. The enzymic activity is inhibited by Ca2+. The dependence of human platelet cholinephosphotransferase upon CDP-choline concentration does not follow the Michaelis-Menten equation. CMP strongly inhibits the reaction. The functional implications of this newly discovered platelet activity are briefly considered.

Blood Platelets↗