The possible significance of the ferrous oxidase activity of ceruloplasmin in normal human serum.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to S Osaki.
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A comprehensive survey of the interaction of the copper proteins and oxygen is presented including a correlation of structure, function, and other properties of the known copper oxidases and of hemocyanin. The origin of their blue color and the structure of copper complexes and copper proteins are related to the oxidation state of copper ion and relevant electronic transitions probably arising from the formation of charge transfer complexes. The oxygen reactions of hemocyanin, ceruloplasmin, and cytochrome oxidase show half-saturation values far below the other Cu enzymes. The formation of hydrogen peroxide as a reaction product is associated with the presence of one Cu atom per oxidase molecule or catalytic system. Water is the corresponding product of the other Cu oxidases with four or more Cu atoms per molecule, except for monoamine oxidase. Mechanisms for the oxidase action of the two and four electron transfer Cu oxidases and tyrosinase are proposed. These reactions account for the number, the oxidation-reduction potential, and the oxidation state of Cu in the resting enzyme, the cyclical change from Cu(II) to Cu(I), the diatomic nature of O(2), the sequence of the oxidation and reduction reactions, and other salient features. The catalytic reactions involved in the oxidation of ascorbic acid by plant ascorbate oxidase, ceruloplasmin, and Cu(II) are compared. Finally the substrate specificity, inhibitory control, and the detailed mechanism of the oxidase activity of ceruloplasmin are summarized.
Drag-lines play a role as a lifeline for a spider to move and fall from trees. The mechanical strength of the drag-lines may be related to the spider's weight since spiders hang from them. The safety coefficient of drag-lines as the lifeline should be considered for the mechanical strength of the drag-lines consisting of double filaments. It was found that the elastic limit strength and breaking strength increase linearly with spider's weight, about twice the spider's weight corresponds to the elastic limit strength, and about six times the spider's weight corresponds to the breaking strength of drag-lines. In other words, the spider's weight corresponds to the elastic limit strength for the single filament. This means that a spider can act safely by one filament even though another filament is broken down. It should be an outcome from spider's long history of 400-million-years evolution. These findings may give a maximal efficiency for the mechanical strength of spider's drag-lines.
The effects of enalapril on exercise capacity and neurohumoral factors during exercise were evaluated in 10 patients with heart failure. Echocardiograms and exercise testing with expired gas analysis were performed before and after enalapril. Blood samples were obtained before and after exercise. Both ejection fraction and percent fractional shortening increased with enalapril (p < 0.05). The anaerobic threshold and peak VO2 did not change with enalapril. Epinephrine and norepinephrine levels at peak exercise decreased with enalapril (p < 0.1). Plasma renin both at rest and at peak exercise increased with enalapril (p < 0.1). Angiotensin II was lower after enalapril both at rest and at peak exercise (p < 0.1 and p < 0.05, respectively). Aldosterone was lower after enalapril both at rest and at peak exercise (p < 0.05). Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) was lower after enalapril both at rest and at peak exercise. There was no significant correlations between peak VO2 and changes in neurohumoral factors before and after enalapril during exercise. In conclusion, neurohumoral changes with enalapril occurred during exercise even if exercise capacity did not improve. Moreover, the improvement of cardiac function at rest and neurohumoral factors with enalapril did not lead to a change of exercise capacity.
Neurohormonal responses to exercise have not been studied fully in patients with essential hypertension (HT). This study determined if neurohormonal responses to exercise are altered between three subgroups of HT categorized by basal plasma renin activity (PRA). Plasma norepinephrine, epinephrine, atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), PRA, angiotensin II (AII), and aldosterone were measured at rest and after submaximal treadmill exercise in 39 patients with essential HT (WHO classes I-II) and 13 controls. Patients with HT were divided into three subgroups based on the PRA level [low-renin (< 0.5) HT (n = 14), normal-renin (0.5-2.0) HT (n = 13), and high-renin (> 2.0) HT (n = 12)]. Patients with HT had higher blood pressure during exercise compared to controls, but blood pressure responses were similar among low-, normal-, and high-renin HT. Neurohormonal factors were comparable between all hypertensives and controls, except for higher plasma AII at rest in patients with HT. When neurohormones were compared among three subgroups of HT, plasma norepinephrine and epinephrine responses were similar. Patients with high-renin HT had higher PRA and AII, and lower ANP levels at rest and after exercise. In all hypertensives, negative correlations were observed between resting PRA and resting ANP (r = -0.41, p < 0.01), as well as peak PRA and peak ANP (r = -0.33, p < 0.05). Thus, neurohormonal responses to exercise varied with similar cardiac responses among subgroups of essential HT stratified according to renin levels. Patients with high-renin HT had augmented renin-angiotensin system activity with a decrease in ANP levels both at rest and after exercise. A reciprocal relationship between renin-angiotensin system activity and ANP was observed both at rest and after exercise in HT.