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Role of quinones in electron transport to oxygen and nitrate in Escherichia coli. Studies with a ubiA- menA- double quinone mutant.

A ubiA- menA- double quinone mutant of Escherichia coli K12 was constructed together with other isogenic strains lacking either ubiquinone or menaquinone. These strains were used to study the role of quinones in electron transport to oxygen and nitrate. Each of the four oxidases examined (NADH, D-lactate, alpha-glycerophosphate and succinate) required a quinone for activity. Ubiquinone was active in each oxidase system while menaquinone gave full activity in alpha-glycerophosphate oxidase, partial activity in D-lactate oxidase but was inactive in NADH and succinate oxidation. The aerobic growth rates, growth yields and products of glucose metabolism of the quinone-deficient strains were also examined. The growth rate and growth yield of the ubi+menA- strain was the same as the wild-type strain, whereas the ubiA-men+ strain grew more slowly on glucose, had a lower growth yield (30% of wild type) and accumulated relatively large quantities of acetate and lactate. The growth of the ubiA-menA- strain was even more severely affected than that of the ubiA-men+ strain. Electron transport from formate, D-lactate, alpha-glycerophosphate and NADH to nitrate was also highly dependent on the presence of a quinone. Either ubiquinone or menaquinone was active in electron transport from formate and the activity of the quinones in electron transport from the other substrates was the same as for the oxidase systems. In contrast, quinones were not obligatory carriers in the anaerobic formate hydrogenlyase system. It is concluded that the quinones serve to link the various dehydrogenases with the terminal electron transport systems to oxygen and nitrate and that the dehydrogenases possess a degree of selectivity with respect to the quinone acceptors.

Aerobiosis

Protein quinone complexes. Bovine plasma albumin and halogenated p-quinones.

A colloidal dispersion of chloranil in water or an aqueous solution of an amino acid shows an ESR signal characteristic of the semiquinone radical anion. The signal is broadened in the presence of bovine plasma albumin, and the available evidence supports the idea that the freedom of the free radical is restricted by a weak association with a specific site in the protein.

Amino Acids

Vectorial redox reactions of physiological quinones. I. Requirement of a minimum length of the isoprenoid side chain.

Physiological quinones carrying isoprenoid side chains have been compared with homologues lacking the side chain, for their ability to carry electrons and protons from dithionite to ferricyanide, trapped in liposomes. Six differential observations were made: (1) Plastoquinone and ubiquinones, with a side chain of more than two isoprene units, are by far better mediators than their short-chain homologues. Also other benzoquinones lacking a long side chain are poor catalysts, except dimethyl-methylenedioxy-p-benzoquinone, a highly autooxidizable compound. Tocopherol is a good catalyst. (2) Vitamin K-1 and K-2 are poor mediators compared to vitamin K-3. (3) The reaction catalyzed by quinones carrying long isoprenoid side chains has an about three-fold higher activation energy, irrespective of the catalytic efficiency. (4) The reaction catalyzed by quinones lacking a long side chain follows pseudo first-order kinetics, while the reaction with quinones carrying a long side chain is of apparently higher order. (5) The rate with ubiquinone-1 is increasing pH, while with ubiquinone-9 it is decreasing. (6) The reaction mediated by short-chain quinones seems to be satuarated at lower dithionite concentration. We conclude that isoprenoid quinones are able to translocate electrons and protons in lipid membranes, and that the side chain has a strong impact on the mechanism. This and the relevance of the model reaction for electron and proton transport in photosynthesis and respiration is discussed.

Energy Transfer

Implication of rifampicin-quinone in the irreversible binding of rifampicin to macromolecules.

1. When [3H]rifampicin is incubated with rat liver microsomes or rat liver homogenate, minor amounts are bound irreversibly to protein. This effect does not depend on the presence of NAD, NADH, NADP or NADPH. 2. Rifampicin is autoxidized at physiological pH. The product of autoxidation, rifampicin-quinone, if incubated with albumin, shows a much greater irreversible binding to the protein than the parent compound rifampicin. Hence it is concluded that rifampicin may bind irreversibly to proteins in a non-enzymic reaction after autoxidation to rifampicin-quinone. 3. Rifampicin-quinone also binds irreversibly to RNA and poly-L-lysine, if incubated with these compounds. This suggests that free amino groups of protein or RNA are involved in the binding. 4. 48 h after dosage of [3H]rifampicin (33 mg/kg) to rats, 29-2 +/- 4-1 (S.D.) pmol are bound irreversibly to 1 mg liver RNA, 15.8 +/- 8-1 pmol to 1 mg liver protein and 5-0 +/- 0-47 pmol to 1 mg protein in brain tissue. 5. Microsomal NADPH-cytochromcin-quinone to rifampicin. The KM of this reaction is 10(-4) M. Induction of the NADPH-cytochrome c reductase by pre-treatment of rats with 20 mg/kg rifampicin over 5 days results in a corresponding increase of increase of rifampicin-quinone reduction. 6. These results suggest that microsomal NADPH-cytochrome c reductase prevents accumulation of higher amounts of possibly toxic rifampicin-quinone by reduction to rifampicin.

Animals

The molecular basis of leucine auxotrophy of quinone-treated Escherichia coli. Active site-directed modification of leucyl-tRNA synthetase by 6-amino-7-chloro-5,8-dioxoquinoline.

Leucyl-tRNA synthetase from Escherichia coli is rapidly inactivated by 6-amino-7-chloro-5,8-dioxoquinoline (quinone), a model substance for cytostatic quinones. Loss of activity follows pseudo-first order kinetics. The quinone masks essential--SH groups that are reactive with N-ethylmaleimide. Specific protection of the enzyme by leucine provides evidence for active site-directed modification. Half-maximal protection is found at a concentration of 150 micron which is identical with the dissociation constant of the enzyme.substrate complex. The competitive inhibitor leucinol also protects the enzyme from inactivation by the quinone. MgATP enhances the protective effect of leucinol about 250-fold, thus substantiating recently published findings on synergistic coupling of ligands to aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. The results support the assumption that the bacteriostatic quinone directly interferes with leucyl-tRNA synthetase in growing cells. Active-site-directed inhibition of the enzyme could adequately explain the phenotypically observed auxotrophy for leucine of quinone-treated E. coli.

Adenosine Triphosphate

Vectorial redox reactions of physiological quinones. II. A study of transient semiquinone formation.

Transient absorption changes during reduction of quinone in liposomes by external dithionite, in the absence and presence of initially trapped ferricyanide, were matched with absorption spectra of semiquinone and quinone in the blue region. Plastoquinone, ubiquinone-9 and phylloquinone, each having an isoprenoid side chain were compared with trimethyl-p-benzoquinone, ubiquinone-9 and menadione, which lack a long side chain. Semiquinone transients could only be observed by our spectroscopic technique during reduction of quinones lacking the chain. If Triton X-100 was added to the liposomes preparation semiquinone transients were also observed with the isoprenoid quinones. This result is consistent with the view that isoprenoid quinones build domains in the membranes, in which the life time of the semiquinone might be decreased by fast disproportionation, and to which dithionite has limited access.

Chemical Phenomena

Quinone induced stringent control. Accumulation of ppGpp and inhibition of RNA synthesis in stringent Escherichia coli by 5,8-dioxo-6-amino-7-chloroquinoline.

The mode of action of a synthetic cytostatic quinone was studied in Escherichia coli. 1. At concentrations of 1.5-6 mug/ml, 5,8-dioxo-6-amino-7-chloroquinoline rapidly inhibits growth and protein synthesis in E. coli. The synthesis of RNA is immediately affected in E. coli rel+ whereas in E. coli rel- the accumulation of RNA can proceed on addition of the quinone. This indicates that the inhibition of RNA synthesis in the stringent strain is a consequence of the regulatory phenomenon governed by the rel gene. 2. Chloramphenicol, known to abolish the stringent control mechanism, added simultaneously with the quinone allows the accumulation of RNA to proceed in the stringent strain. 3. Guanosine tetraphosphate accumulates in quinone-treated E. coli rel+ but not in the relaxed mutant strain. 4. Addition of amino acids reverses all inhibitory effects observed in quinone treated stringent and relaxed cells. 5. It is concluded that the bacteriostatic effect of 5,8-dioxo-6-amino-7-chloroquinoline on E. coli is caused by an apparent intracellular amino acid starvation.

Alanine

The sensitizing capacity of naturally occurring quinones. Experimental studies in guinea pigs. II. Benzoquinones.

Experimental studies on the sensitizing capacity of naturally occurring benzoquinones, isolated from plants and woods have been carried out in guinea pigs of the Pirbright white strain. Seven compounds were available: primin, three dalbergiones, mansonia quinone (mansonone A), 2,6-dimethoxybenzoquinone and rapanone. With five of these substances (primin, mansonone A, three dalbergiones) guinea pigs could be sensitized. Primin, the allergen of Primula obconica Hance (primrose) proved to be the most effective one of all quinones tested in this and the preceding studies. As a similar but weaker sensitizer R-3, 4-dimethoxydalbergione from Machaerium scleroxylon Tul. (Pao ferro, Caviuna vermelha) could be identified. The results obtained with mansonone A, a sesquiterpenoid quinone from Mansonia altissima A. Chev. demonstrate that even naturally occurring orthoquinones are capable of inducing contact allergy. Allergic cross reactions could be obtained between all chemically related mansonones A-F. The results are in good accordance with the view that the sensitizing capacity of naturally occurring quinones depends on the fundamental quinoid structure and the length, position and configuration of the aliphatic side-chain.

Animals

Separation of quinones and their derivatives by high-performance liquid chromatography.

The separation of mixtures of quinones by high-performance liquid chromatography has been studied. The technique described is suitable for separating differently substituted quinones. Particularly convenient is the conversion of quinones into 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazones, which makes the reliable identification of benzoquinones and naphthoquinones possible. Studies of the separation of 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazones of quinones and nitrophenols on Sephadex LH-20 gel indicated that the substances in question were not separated on the basis of differences in molecular weight; but the RF values were proportional to the dissociation constant.

Anthraquinones

[Yield of pigment cation-radicals in the reaction of quinone photooxidation of chlorophyll].

Photoinduced transfer of electrons in alkohol solutions of chlorophyll and its deuterated analog, deuterochlorophyll containing the quinoses: p-benzoquinone, chloranyl, duroquinone, 1,4-naftoquinone and ubiquinone (coenzyme Q6) is studied. It is shown that pigment cation-radical and quinone anion-radical are the primary products of photoreaction. A relationship between stationary concentrations of deuterochlorophyll and p-benzoquinone radicals and quinone concentration in solution is obtained. The reaction mechanism and causes of other authors' (G. Tollin et al.) failure in finding pigment cation-radicals which are formed in the reaction of the latter with quinoses are discussed. It is shown that optimal conditions for accumulating photoinduced cation-radicals of the pigment in pigment solutions of chlorophyll with quinones are lowered temperature, high viscosity of the solvent, low pH of the solution, careful purification of the quinone from hydroquinone admixture.

Chemical Phenomena

Mutagenicity and cytotoxicity of benzo(a)pyrene arene oxides, phenols, quinones, and dihydrodiols in bacterial and mammalian cells.

Twenty-nine benzo(a)pyrene derivatives were tested for mutagenic acitivity without metabolic activation in Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98, TA100, and TA1538 and in Chinese hamster V79 cells. The compounds studied included 4 arene oxides, all 12 isomeric phenols, 5 quinones, and 8 dihydrodiols. Benzo(a)pyrene 4,5-oxide was the most mutagenic of the compounds tested in both the bacterial and mammalian systems. The other arene oxides [benzo(a)pyrene 7,8-, 9,10-, and 11,12-oxides] were only weakly mutagenic in the S. typhimurium strains. However, in Chinese hamster V79 cells benzo(a)pyrene 11,12-oxide. Among the phenols, 6-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene and 12-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene were moderately mutagenic in strain TA98 of S. typhimurium, and 6-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene was moderately mutagenic in V79 cells. The other 10 phenols, 5 quinones [benzo(a)pyrene 1,6-, 3,6-, 4,5-, 6, 12-, and 11,12-quinones] and 8 dihydrodiols [benzo(a)pyrene cis-4,5,trans-4,5-, cis-7,8-, trans-7,8-, cis-9,10-, trans-9,10-, cis-11,12-, and trans-11, 12-dihydrodiols] were eitherinactive or only weekly mutagenic. 1-Hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene and 3-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene were weakly mutagenic in strain TA98 of S. typhimurium, and benzo(a)pyrene 7,8-dihydrodiol was weakly mutagenic in V79 cells. Benzo(a)pyrene 11,12-quinone was extremely cytotoxic to the V79 cells but had no observable toxicity in the bacterial strains.

Animals

Studies on electron transfer systems in the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. II. Identification and determination of quinones, cytochromes, and flavins.

Quinones constituting the electron transfer systems in a marine unicellular diatom, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, were isolated and identified chromatographically. The alga contained five quinones, i.e., plastoquinone A, plastoquinone C, plastoquinone D, alpha-tocopherylquinone, and ubiquinone-9. Other types of quinones, such as vitamin K1, were not detected. The contents of plastoquinone A, plastoquinone C, plastoquinone D, ubiquinone-9, and alpha-tocopherylquinone were 25.5, 4.95, 1.99, 4.78, and 0.28 mmol per mol of chlorophyll, respectively. The contents of the soluble C-type cytochromes, cytochrome c-550 and cytochrome c-553, were 2.15 and 4.34 mmol (heme basis) per mol of chlorophyll, respectively. The amount of B-type cytochrome in the bound form was estimated to be 3.24 mmol (heme basis) per mol of chlorophyll. The acid-soluble flavins, FAD and FMN, were present in amounts of 0.68 and 0.41 mmol per mol of chlorophyll, respectively.

Animals

Sensitizing capacity of naturally occurring quinones. V. 2.6-dimethoxy-p-benzoquinone: occurrence and significance as a contact allergen.

2.6-dimethoxy-1,4-benzoquinone has already been discovered in more than 25 different plants and woods. Several authors have shown its strong bacteriostatic activity against micro-organisms. In 1972 a positive skin reaction to 2.6-dimethoxybenzoquinone was obtained in a patient allergic to Sucupira wood (Bowdichia nitida Benth.). This compound could be isolated from the wood. During the chemical investigations of other commercial woods which have been described as the cause of allergic contact dermatitis, 2.6-dimethoxybenzoquinone could be isolated from an additional 21 different species. In the case of Australian blackwood Acacia melanoxylan R.BR., its structure was elucidated by x-ray analysis. Sensitization of guinea pigs revealed that 2.6-dimethoxybenzoquinone is a relatively good sensitizer. In some of the woods investigated, quinones have never been discovered before, for example in Makoré, Australian blackwood, Wengé, White wood, Afrormosia and Afzelia. In 10 of them only this quinone was detectable. Besides its allergenic properties, 2.6-dimethoxybenzoquinone may be responsible for the high termite resistance of these woods. In all cases of contact dermatitis from these wood species in which quinoid allergens other than 2,6-dimethoxybenzoquinone could be detected, this quinone should be used for patch tests.

Allergens

Aerobic respiration in mutants of Escherichia coli accumulating quinone analogues of ubiquinone.

The ability of three naturally occurring analogues of ubiquinone to function in aerobic respiration in Escherichia coli has been studied. The compounds, which differ from ubiquinone in terms of the substituents on the quinone ring, accumulate in the cytoplasmic membranes of ubiE-, ubiF- and ubiG- mutants. One of the analogues (2-octaprenyl-3-methyl-6-methoxy-1,4-benzoquinone, NMQ), which lacks the 5-methoxyl group of the benzoquinone ring of ubiquinone promoted the oxidation of NADH, D-lactate and alpha-glycerophosphate but not succinate. Electron transport supported by MMQ was found to be coupled to phosphorylation. In contrast, 2-octaprenyl-6-methoxy-1,4-benzoquinone, which lacks both the 3-methyl and 5-methoxyl groups of ubiquinone, and 2-octaprenyl-3-methyl-5-hydroxy-6-methoxy-1,4-benzoquinone, in which the 5-methoxyl group of ubiquinone is replaced by an hydroxyl group, were virtually inactive in the oxidases tested. The ability of MMQ to function in respiration in isolated membranes is consistent with the findings that the growth rate and yield of a ubiF- strain, unlike other ubi- strains, were only slightly lower than those of a ubiF+ strain. The fact that MMQ is active in some but not all oxidases provides further support for the concept that the quinones link the individual dehydrogenases to the respiratory chain and that each dehydrogenase has specific structural requirements for quinone acceptors.

Aerobiosis

Isoprenoid quinones in the classification of coryneform and related bacteria.

Menaquinones were the only isoprenoid quinones found in 85 of the 95 coryneform bacteria examined. Dihydromenaquinones having nine isoprene units were the main components isolated from Corynebacterium bovis, from other glutamic acid-producing strains, and from Arthrobacter globiformis and related species. Dihydromenaquinones with eight isoprene units were found in Brevibacterium linens, the remaining Corynebacterium species and strains probably belonging to the genus Rhodococcus. Tetrahydromenaquinones with eight isoprene units were found in Arthrobacter simplex and Arthrobacter tumescens, and with nine isoprene units in Cellulomonas and Oerskovia. Kurthia and Curtobacterium were characterized by menaquinones with seven and nine isoprene units, respectively, and Microbacterium lacticum and Corynebacterium aquaticum had comparable amounts of menaquinones with 10 and 11 isoprene units. Strains received as Brevibacterium leucinophagum, Corynebacterium autotrophicum, Corynebacterium nephridii, Mycobacterium flavum, Mycoplana rubra and Protaminobacter ruber contained uniquinones as their sole isoprenoid quinones. The isoprenoid quinone data correlate well with major trends in coryneform taxonomy and are of value in the classification of coryneform and related bacteria.

Actinomycetales

Effects of quinone derivatives on an experimental tumor.

In continuation of studies on the activity of known solid tumor inhibitors, four acetylated glycosyl derivatives of 1,4-quinones were prepared and tested against Ehrlich ascitic tumor. All four compounds significantly inhibited growth of this neoplasm. UV, IR, and mass spectra are given for the three new synthetic quinone derivatives.

Animals

Interaction of lipophilic quinones with membrane fragments of Paracoccus denitrificans and Staphylococcus epidermidis.

In quinone-depleted mitochondrial and Paracoccus denitrificans membranes the quantum yield of fluorescence of ostruthin (6-geranyl-7-hydroxycoumarin) was maintained, whereas an increase in the quantum yield took place after extraction of Staphylococcus epidermidis membrane. A marked quenching effect of ubiquinone and menaquinone each with two isoprene units in the side chain on the ostruthin fluorescence was found with all types of quinone-depleted particles. When the homogues of menaquinone and ubiquinone with six isoprene units in the side chain were re-incorporated, a quenching of the ostruthin fluorescence was observed in the S. epidermidis membranes but not in those of P. denitrificans. The different behaviour of both bacterial preparations is attributable to the more specific finding of ubiquinone in the particles of P. denitrificans.

Cell Membrane