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Purification and characterization of animal porphobilinogen synthases--II. Dog liver porphobilinogen synthase.

1. A method is described for the purification of porphobilinogen synthase (PBG-S) from dog liver (acetone dry powder; ammonium sulfate fractionation; controlled heat denaturation; ion exchange chromatography; gel filtration). The 911-fold purified enzyme with a specific activity of 372 mU/mg and 6.2 nkat/mg enzyme protein, respectively, appears as a single band in disc electrophoresis. 2. The optimum pH of the enzyme is 6.8; the Michaelis constant Km = 1.77 x 10(-4) M with 5-amino-levulinic acid as substrate. 3. The determination of the molecular weight of the native multisubunit enzyme (268,000 dalton) and of the subunit (33,500 dalton) are in favour of an octameric structure. 4. The acyl group blocking the N-terminus has been identified as an acetyl group (hydrazinolysis; dansylation; TLC; HPLC). 5. The amino acid composition of the PBG-S subunit is as follows CH3CO-NH-(Asx22Thr9-10Ser18Glx28-29Pro20-21Gly22Ala35-37Val23-25Met5 Ile8-9Leu32-33Tyr10Phe12Lys12Cys3His7Arg22Trp3)-Ala-Leu-COOH. 6. In the presence of ganidinium chloride only one free sulfhydryl group per subunit (3 cysteine residues) could be detected. 7. The purified enzyme contains 0.56 gram atoms of zinc per octamer (neutron activating analysis).

Amino Acids↗

Protective effect of zinc on heme biosynthesis disturbances in rabbits after administration per os of tin.

In the present study the lowest p.o. doses of tin affecting heme biosynthesis in rabbits were determined and the protective effect of zinc on these disorders was evaluated. The experiment was performed on female rabbits who received per os single doses of SnCl2 x 2 H2O (10, 100, and 200 mg Sn/kg) and ZnSO4 (50 mg Zn/kg s.c.). The activities of delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALA-D) in the whole blood, free erythrocyte propoporhyrins, urine delta-aminolevulinic acid, and coproporphyrins (CP-U) were determined. In animals administered tin at a dose of 100 mg Sn/kg, ALA-D activity decreased by about 80% and two- to threefold increases in the ALA and CP concentrations in urine were observed. A protective effect of zinc with respect to ALA-D activity was noticed in both groups (100 and 200 mg Sn/kg) after combined administration of both metals. Results of an interaction between zinc and tin were also observed to reduce ALA levels in urine, whereas zinc did not protect against an effect of tin on CP excretion.

Administration, Oral↗

A thiono-beta-lactam substrate for the beta-lactamase II of Bacillus cereus. Evidence for direct interaction between the essential metal ion and substrate.

An 8-thionocephalosporin was shown to be a substrate of the beta-lactamase II of Bacillus cereus, a zinc metalloenzyme. Although it is a poorer substrate, as judged by the Kcat./Km parameter, than the corresponding 8-oxocephalosporin, the discrimination against sulphur decreased when the bivalent metal ion in the enzyme active site was varied in the order Mn2+ (the manganese enzyme catalysed the hydrolysis of the oxo compound but not that of the thiono compound), Zn2+, Co2+ and Cd2+. This result is taken as evidence for kinetically significant direct contact between the active-site metal ion of beta-lactamase II and the beta-lactam carbonyl heteroatom. No evidence was obtained, however, for accumulation of an intermediate with such co-ordination present.

Bacillus cereus↗

Blockade by ferrous iron of Ca2+ influx through N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor channels in immature cultured rat cortical neurons.

Rat cortical neurons cultured for 3 days in vitro were loaded with the fluorescent indicator fluo-3 for assessment of intracellular free calcium ion (Ca2+) concentrations with the aid of a confocal laser-scanning microscope. In the absence of added MgCl2, the addition of NMDA induced a rapid but sustained increase in the number of fluorescent neurons in a concentration-dependent manner at a concentration range of 1-100 micro m with the increase by KCl being transient. The addition of FeCl2, but not FeCl3, markedly inhibited the increase by NMDA in a reversible manner at concentrations of 10-200 micro m, without affecting that by KCl. Extensive analyses revealed clear differentiation between inhibitions by ferrous iron and other channel blockers known to date. The inhibition by FeCl2 was completely prevented by the addition of two different iron chelators. Exposure to NMDA alone did not lead to cell death in immature cultured neurons, however, while further addition of FeCl2 invariably induced neuronal cell death 24 h after exposure. These results give support to our previous proposal that NMDA receptor complex may contain a novel site sensitive to blockade by ferrous iron in rat brain.

Animals↗

Prenatal therapy for fetal growth restriction.

The choice of therapy for fetal growth restriction (FGR) depends on the nature of the insult that led to the development of FGR. Many etiologic factors are either not amenable to therapy or fetal growth has not been improved by treatments that benefit the mother. Many therapeutic approaches have been used to improve fetal condition. None of the approaches have been of value in a consistent manner. We present the numerous approaches, and their rationale for their use, that have been tried to treat the growth impaired fetus. The evidence from the randomized clinical trials is summarized and their conclusions given.

Adrenergic beta-Agonists↗

The use of a sodium tungstate developer markedly improves the electron microscopic localization of zinc by the Timm method.

The Timm's sulfide-silver method is frequently used for the demonstration of the mossy fiber bundle or sprouted mossy fibers in the normal or epileptic hippocampal dentate gyrus. Under the light microscope the results are excellent, but the ultrastructure is considerably impaired and the silver grains produced are too large as compared to the sizes of intra-synaptic structures. The present study was meant to test a series of physical developers containing, instead of gum arabic, sodium tungstate as protective colloid. One of them left the ultrastructure fairly intact and produced small, round silver grains, making it possible to precisely locate zinc in mossy terminals. With this method, it could be demonstrated that zinc is contained inside synaptic vesicles in the resting axon terminals of granule cells. As a consequence of prolonged sodium sulfide perfusion, zinc is released from synaptic vesicles and enters the synaptic cleft.

Animals↗

An aspartate ring at the TolC tunnel entrance determines ion selectivity and presents a target for blocking by large cations.

The TolC protein of Escherichia coli comprises an outer membrane beta-barrel channel and a contiguous alpha-helical tunnel spanning the periplasm, providing an exit duct for protein export and multidrug efflux. It forms a single transmembrane pore that is open to the outside of the cell but constricted at the peri-plasmic tunnel entrance. This sole constriction is lined by a ring of six aspartate residues, two in each of the three identical monomers. When these were replaced by alanines, the resulting TolC(DADA) protein reconstituted normally in black lipid membranes but showed altered electrophysiological characteristics. In particular, it had lost the strong pH dependence of the wild type and had switched ion selectivity from cations to anions. The function of wild-type TolC as a membrane pore was severely inhibited by divalent and trivalent cations entering the channel tunnel from the channel ("extracurricular") side. Divalent cations bound reversibly to effect complete blocking of the transmembrane ion flux. Trivalent cations were more potent. Hexamminecobalt bound at nanomolar concentrations allowed visualization of single blocking events, whereas the smaller Cr(3+) cation bound irreversibly and could also access the cation binding site via the tunnel entrance. The inhibitory cations had no effect on the mutant TolC(DADA), supporting the view that the aspartate ring is the cation binding site. The electronegative entrance is widely conserved throughout the TolC family, which is essential for efflux and export my Gram-negative bacteria, suggesting that it could present a general target for drugs.

Aspartic Acid↗

[The dynamics of the Zn content in the pancreatic islets of rabbits after the administration of the diabetogenic agent dithizone].

The dynamics of changes of the Zn content in the pancreatic islets of rabbits after dithizon injection was studied. The amount of this metal in the islets reduced due to destruction of the cells and under the effect of high blood plasma glucose concentration. The insulin producing cells were devoid of zinc in diabetes of long duration with high hyperglycemia.

Aminoquinolines↗

Nitric oxide generators produce accumulation of chelatable zinc in hippocampal neuronal perikarya.

While zinc is essential for health, it has also been implicated in the neuropathology of several disease states such as Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy and cerebral ischemia. Recent studies have shown that oxidative and nitrosylative stresses can liberate zinc from metalloproteins in vitro. Thus, nitric oxide (NO.), a radical molecule which serves as a retrograde messenger, was studied for its effects on the in vivo accumulation of zinc in neurons. Three NO. -donors, sodium nitroprusside (SNP; >/=5 nmol), spermine-nitric oxide complex (SPER-NO; </=200 nmol), and 3-morpholino-sydnonimine (SIN-1; </=200 nmol) were administered into the dorsal hippocampus of rats. Brain tissue was stained by both the Timm's method, and with N-(6-methoxy-8-quinolyl)-para-toluenesulfonamide (TSQ), a histochemical stain for metal ions and a selective fluorescent probe for zinc ions, respectively. A sporadic pattern of zinc accumulation within the perikarya, axons, and dendritic processes of certain pyramidal neurons, interneurons, and dentate granule cells was found 2 h after administrations of SNP and SPER-NO, but not with SIN-1. With SNP, sporadic perikaryal zinc staining of the pyramidal neurons and interneurons at strata oriens (SO), pyramidale (SP), and radiatum (SR) was consistently observed, but with SPER-NO, the granule cells of the dentate gyrus were preferentially stained. Administration of sodium ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (NaEDTA, 10 nmol) 10 min before SNP resulted in a marked reduction of sporadic perikaryal zinc staining in the SO and SR. The more selective metal chelator, N,N,N', N'-tetrakis(2-pyridylmethyl)ethylenediamine (TPEN, 10 nmol) injected 10 min before SNP abolished the staining of neuronal perikarya and surrounding neuropil. In addition, SNP, but not SPER-NO, induced convulsive activity. Groups of rats that manifested continuous wet dog shakes and/or generalized convulsions for at least 4-5 h after SNP were found to have generalized perikaryal Timm's staining of all neurons in the pyramidal cell layer of the subicular and cornu ammonis regions, similar to the staining found after seizures induced by kainic acid. However, after kainic acid-, but not SNP-induced seizures, Timm's staining of neuronal perikarya in the piriform cortex and amygdala was also observed. This is the first evidence that NO. can induce accumulation of zinc in neuronal perikarya and processes in the hippocampus in vivo. As a mechanism underlying the possible involvement of zinc in neurodegenerative disorders caused by excitotoxicity and/or oxidative stress, it is an alternative to release of synaptic vesicle zinc and uptake by damaged hippocampal neuronal perikarya.

Aminoquinolines↗

Metal binding properties of thiols; complexes with horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase.

The metal binding properties of thiols were investigated fluorimetrically and spectrophotometrically using horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase as a model metalloenzyme. The steady-state kinetics revealed that in the presence of the coenzyme the primary interaction of a thiol with the enzyme is by thiolate competing with alcohol for the active zinc site. The experiments with 2-mercaptoethanol and ethanethiol showed that at physiological pH it is enzyme-NAD-thiol complexes which are kinetically important with enzyme-thiol complexes only significant at higher pH. The dissociation constants for the binding of thiols in the ternary enzyme-NAD-thiol complexes showed tighter binding as the pH increases, with dithiols binding more tightly than monothiols. The primary binding to zinc was less dependent on the pKa value of each thiol than on mutual stabilization of zinc bound thiolate by the positive charge on the pyridinium ring of NAD, and by monodentate binding and with some dithiols perhaps bidentate binding. The tighter binding to the enzyme of the thiol when it is more hydrophobic or less polar indicates that the thiols interact not only with the active zinc site but also with a neighboring hydrophobic site. This is important for tight binding thiols which are rigidly held by multivalent binding through being anchored hydrophobically and to positively charged centers like zinc.

Alcohol Dehydrogenase↗

Importance of the structural zinc atom for the stability of yeast alcohol dehydrogenase.

Yeast alcohol dehydrogenase is a tetrameric enzyme containing zinc. Initially we confirmed the presence of two zinc atoms per subunit. Incubation of the enzyme with increasing concentrations of dithiothreitol, a method for partial chelation, allowed first the reduction of four disulphide bridges per enzyme, but eventually was sufficient to chelate the structural zinc atom without having any effect on the zinc located in the active site. The enzyme activity was not affected but the enzyme became very sensitive to heat denaturation. Chelation by EDTA was also performed. Given its location at an external position in the globular protein, protected in each subunit by one disulphide bridge, the results establish that the second zinc atom present on each enzymic subunit plays a prominent conformational role, probably by stabilizing the tertiary structure of yeast alcohol dehydrogenase. Recovery experiments were performed by incubation of the native enzyme, or the dithiothreitol-treated enzyme, with a small amount of Zn2+. A stabilization effect was found when the structural zinc was re-incorporated after its removal by dithiothreitol. In all cases a large increase in activity was also observed, which was much greater than that expected based on the amount of re-incorporated zinc atom, suggesting the re-activation of some inactive commercial enzyme which had lost some of its original catalytic zinc atoms.

Alcohol Dehydrogenase↗

Formaldehyde dehydrogenase from Pseudomonas putida: a zinc metalloenzyme.

The NAD+-dependent formaldehyde dehydrogenase from Pseudomonas putida C-83 was found to contain 4 gram atoms of zinc per mol, corresponding to 2 gram atoms of zinc per subunit monomer. Treatment of the enzyme with o-phenanthroline resulted in removal of 1 gram atom of zinc per subunit and caused a complete inactivation of the enzyme. The activity lost was restored by the addition of zinc ions, by which the zinc content was also reversed to almost the same level as that of the native enzyme. Another zinc atom that was resistant to metal chelator-treatment was liberated from the enzyme only after the irreversible denaturation of the enzyme. These results indicate that the formaldehyde dehydrogenase of P. putida is a zinc metalloenzyme and one of two zinc atoms per subunit participates in the catalytic activity of the enzyme, another zinc being presumably involved in maintaining the native conformation of the enzyme. Treatment of the enzyme with bipyridine also caused a reversible inactivation of the enzyme, but the zinc content remained unchanged. The spectrophotometric analysis indicated that the formation of a enzyme-Zn-bipyridine complex took place. Incubation of the enzyme with p-chloromercuribenzoate also resulted in a complete loss of the activity. These results suggest that an intrinsic zinc and sulfhydryl group together with NAD+ participate in the dehydrogenation reaction of substrate by the enzyme.

Aldehyde Oxidoreductases↗

Localization of zinc after in vitro mineralization in osteoblastic cells.

The present study was designed to investigate the incorporation of zinc (Zn) into cultured UMR-106 osteoblasts in response to mineralization caused by the addition of beta-glycerophosphate. As a result of the induced mineralization, the contents of calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), and Zn in the monolayer increased, whereas the magnesium (Mg) content did not change. The activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) also increased during the process. The zinc distribution in the cell monolayer was studied using Zinquin, a fluorescent zinc ion chelator. The double fluorescent labeling with Zinquin and calcein revealed that zinc was localized both as intracellular vesicles and extracellular clusters, whereas calcium was colocalized with extracellular zinc. These results suggest that zinc is involved in the mineralization process of UMR-106 cells.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗