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Glutamine transaminase K and omega-amidase activities are present in the chick brain and in the brains of adult mice, rats, and humans. However, the activity of glutamine transaminase K in adult mouse brain is relatively low. In the chick embryo, cerebral glutamine transaminase K activity is low between embryonic days 5 and 17, but by day 23 (day of hatching) activity rises dramatically (> 15-fold). Cerebral omega-amidase activity is relatively high at embryonic day 5 but lower between days 5 and 17; at embryonic day 23 the activity rises to a maximum. Both glutamine transaminase K and omega-amidase are present in cultured chick, rat, and mouse astrocytes and neurons. For each species, the activity of glutamine transaminase K is higher in the astrocytes than in the neurons. The activity of omega-amidase is about the same in the cultured chick astrocytes and neurons but significantly higher in rat astrocytes than in rat neurons. The data suggest that the rise in brain glutamine transaminase K activity in the chick embryo at hatching correlates with maturation of astrocytes. Glutamine transaminase K may be involved in glutamine cycling in astrocytes. Glutamine transaminase K appears to be a major cysteine S-conjugate beta-lyase of the brain and may play a role in the neurotoxicity associated with exposure to dichloroacetylene and perhaps to other toxins.
This study describes the functional characterization of a specific mosquito transaminase responsible for catalyzing the transamination of 3-hydroxykynurenine (3-HK) to xanthurenic acid (XA). The enzyme was purified from Aedes aegypti larvae by ammonium sulfate fractionation, heat treatment, and various chromatographic techniques, plus non-denaturing electrophoresis. The purified transaminase has a relative molecular mass of 42,500 by SDS-PAGE. N-terminal and internal sequencing of the purified protein and its tryptic fragments resolved a partial N-terminal sequence of 19 amino acid residues and 3 partial internal peptide sequences with 7, 10, and 7 amino acid residues. Using degenerate primers based on the partial internal sequences for PCR amplification and cDNA library screening, a full-length cDNA clone with a 1,167-bp open reading frame was isolated. Its deduced amino acid sequence consists of 389 amino acid residues with a predicted molecular mass of 43,239 and shares 45-46% sequence identity with mammalian alanine glyoxylate transaminases. Northern analysis shows the active transcription of the enzyme in larvae and developing eggs. Substrate specificity analysis of this mosquito transaminase demonstrates that the enzyme is active with 3-HK, kynurenine, or alanine substrates. The enzyme has greater affinity and catalytic efficiency for 3-HK than for kynurenine and alanine. The biochemical characteristics of the enzyme in conjunction with the profiles of 3-HK transaminase activity and XA accumulation during mosquito development clearly point out its physiological function in the 3-HK to XA pathway. Our data suggest that the mosquito transaminase was evolved in a manner precisely reflecting the physiological requirement of detoxifying 3-HK produced in the tryptophan oxidation pathway in the mosquito.
Procedures that have been developed for the purification of acetylornithine delta-transaminase from Escherichia coli W also lead to the simultaneous purification of ornithine delta-transaminase. These two enzymatic activities have the same electrophoretic mobility and are identical immunochemically. Studies of inhibition kinetics demonstrate that the two substrates, acetylornithine and ornithine, compete for the same active site of acetylornithine delta-transaminase; thus, the ornithine delta-transaminase activity in E coli is due to acetylornithine delta-transaminase and not to a separate specific ornithine delta-transaminase.
An aminotransferase (transaminase) which is active for leucine and methionine, but not for valine or isoleucine, was purified from rat liver mitochondria. The purified preparation appeared homogeneous on polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis. Its molecular weight was shown to be 55 000 by gel filtration. It differed from enzyme II (leucine aminotransferase, EC 2.6.1.6) in the supernatant fraction, another transaminase which is also specific for leucine and methionine, in molecular weight, Km values for substrates, electrophoretic mobility, chromatographic behavior and heat stability. From comparison with related transaminases it was concluded to be a new enzyme and named mitochondrial leucine (methionine) transaminase.
We have isolated and characterized an aspartate transaminase (glutamate:oxalacetate transaminase, EC 2.6.1.1) from the thermophilic microorganism Bacillus stearothermophilus. The purified enzyme has a molecular mass of 40.5 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate gel analysis, a temperature optimum of 95 degrees C, and a pH optimum of 8.0. The corresponding gene, aspC, was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant glutamate:oxalacetate transaminase protein was used in immobilized form together with 4-aminobutyrate:2-ketoglutarate transaminase (EC 2.6.1.19) from E. coli for the production of L-phosphinothricin [L-homoalanin-4-yl-(methyl)phosphinic acid], the active ingredient of the herbicide Basta (AgrEvo GmbH), from its nonchiral 2-keto acid precursor 2-oxo-4-[(hydroxy)(methyl)phosphinoyl]butyric acid (PPO). In this new coupled process conversion rates of ca. 85% were obtained with substrate solutions containing 10% PPO by using only slight excesses of the amino donors glutamate and aspartate. The contamination of the reaction broth with amino acid by-products was < 3%.
Blatt, L. (University of Wisconsin, Madison), F. E. Dorer, and H. J. Sallach. Occurrence of hydroxypyruvate-l-glutamate transaminase in Escherichia coli and its separation from hydroxypyruvate-phosphate-l-glutamate transaminase. J. Bacteriol. 92:668-675. 1966.-The formation of l-serine from hydroxypyruvate by a transamination reaction with l-glutamate has been demonstrated in extracts of Escherichia coli. The level of activity with hydroxypyruvate is approximately one-tenth that observed with hydroxypyruvate-phosphate in cell-free extracts. The transamination of hydroxypyruvate, but not hydroxypyruvate-phosphate, is inhibited by inorganic phosphate. No marked differences in the levels of activity with hydroxypyruvate were observed in extracts from bacteria grown under different conditions. Heat treatment of enzyme preparations at 65 C rapidly destroys the activity with hydroxypyruvate-phosphate, but not that with hydroxypyruvate. Fractionation of extracts with lithium sulfate and alumina Cgamma resulted not only in a 10-fold purification, but also in a complete separation of the two activities, thereby establishing that two different enzymes are involved in the transamination of hydroxypyruvate and hydroxypyruvate-phosphate. Hydroxypyruvate transaminase is present in two mutants that require serine for growth. The inability of hydroxypyruvate to replace the growth requirement for serine, even to a limited extent, was shown to be due to the inability of the bacteria to accumulate this compound actively.
The serum activity of SGOT and SGPT is one of the more specific parameters of liver cell injury both in adults and in the pediatric age-group. The determination of serum transaminase activity could offer a routine and rapid laboratory test for establishing the presence of hepatic cellular damage following intrauterine or perinatal asphyxia. In fact, it appears that there is a correlation between hypoxia and the increase in serum activity of transaminases in full-term and premature asphyxiated newborns. However, this increase is reversible up to the 30th day of life. The behavior of transaminase enzymatic activity in premature asphyxiated newborns compared to full-term asphyxiated newborns suggests a higher resistance of membranes to hypoxic-ischemic injuries and a lower enzymatic pool of cellular metabolism in premature newborns. Therefore, knowledge of the behavior of SGOT and SGPT activity may have important implications in the diagnosis and early treatment of perinatal asphyxia.
Identification of rat liver mitochondrial asparagine-pyruvate transaminase with phenylalanine-pyruvate transaminase has been done. When a mitochondria extract was subjected to isoelectric focusing, the two enzyme activities were identically focused. This procedure and DEAE-Sepharose chromatography revealed multiple forms of the enzyme, in which the main form was purified. In the various purification steps the two enzyme activities appeared in the same fraction. The enzyme of the final preparation step gave a single band in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence and absence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. During the purification, a similar increase of the specific activity and yield were obtained in the two activities. Phenylalanine was found to be a competitive inhibitor of asparagine transaminase. These results suggest the identity of the two enzymes.
BACKGROUND: Several methods have been published for measuring gamma-aminobutyric acid transaminase (GABA-T) activity, but these methods are either impracticable because of the use of radioisotopes or insufficiently sensitive to determine small enzyme activities in leukocyte extracts. We developed a direct and sensitive enzyme method. METHODS: We developed a stable-isotope dilution method for the measurement of [15N]glutamic acid derived from [15N]GABA and alpha-ketoglutaric acid, catalyzed by GABA-T. The method for analysis of [15N]glutamic acid comprised a solid-phase extraction procedure to isolate this analyte from incubation samples. After derivatization, [15N]glutamic acid was quantified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry relative to its 2H5-labeled internal standard. In addition to [15N]GABA, [15N]beta-alanine was a cosubstrate. RESULTS: GABA-T-deficient lymphoblasts showed diminished enzyme activity, with both [15N]GABA and [15N]beta-alanine as substrate. Vigabatrin inhibited the enzyme activity for both substrates. CONCLUSIONS: The activity of GABA-T can be accurately determined by our procedure using 15N-labeled substrate, measuring the formation of [15N]glutamic acid. Our results with [15N]beta-alanine indicate that GABA and beta-alanine transaminases are identical.
The activity, properties, and developmental pattern of cysteine sulfinate transaminase (CSA-T) were studied in chick retina and compared with the activity, properties, and developmental pattern of glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT). Their optimum pH is identical whereas the effect of pyridoxal phosphate seems to be different. Developmental patterns are also different. The Km and Vm of CSA-T and GOT were determined in chick retina homogenate. These results suggest that two different enzymes are responsible for the transamination of cysteine sulfinate (CSA) and aspartate.
The growth in culture of methionine-dependent transformed cells of human, rat and mouse origin was arrested in the absence of L-methionine (Met) but took place in the presence of 4-methylthio-2-oxobutanoic acid (MTOB), the keto acid of Met. From 24 hr after seeding, cells grew in 0.1 mM MTOB medium at a rate comparable to that in 0.1 mM Met medium. Using [35S]MTOB, it was found that the Met synthesized was used in normal MRC-5 cells and in transformed HeLa cells to the same extent for protein, adenosylmethionine and adenosylhomocysteine syntheses. However, when the free Met content was examined, it was found to be 3-fold greater in HeLa than in MRC-5 cells. To examine the importance of this free Met for the growth of transformed cells, the transaminase responsible for converting MTOB to Met was chosen as a target enzyme for the synthesis of compounds with potential inhibitory activity. Since this is a multisubstrate enzyme, reduced Schiff bases were prepared containing both pyridoxal or other aromatic groups, as one constituent, and L-Met or other amino-acids in the free acid or ester or amide form, as the other constituent. Only esters containing the pyridoxal moiety and Met or certain of its structural analogues exhibited good selective growth inhibitory activity in that there was little (20%) or no effect on the growth of normal MRC-5 and derm cells, respectively, while that of transformed HeLa, HEp-2 and L1210 cells was strongly inhibited (80%). This inhibition was accompanied by a concomitant decrease in the activity of the MTOB transaminase in both HeLa and MRC-5 cells treated with 3c the most potent inhibitor. However, using [35S]MTOB it was found that MTOB itself accumulated 48% in HeLa but only 12% in MRC-5 cells treated with 3c. On the contrary [35S]Met formed from [35S]MTOB increased 3.7-fold in MRC-5 inhibitor-treated cells showing 20% growth inhibition whereas it decreased 38% in HeLa-treated cells showing 80% growth inhibition. This decrease in cellular Met in HeLa is not responsible for growth arrest. Indeed the growth of HeLa cells could not be restored by adding a 10-fold excess of Met. Since MTOB can alleviate Met-dependence, the intracellular homeostasis of this metabolite may play a hitherto unsuspected role in controlling cell growth.
The serum enzyme activities of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (AP), serum glutamyl oxalate transaminase (sGOT) and serum glutamyl pyruvate transaminase (sGPT) were determined longitudinally in 51 patients with a disseminated non-seminomatous testicular tumor. Elevated levels of one or more enzymes before chemotherapy were observed in 13 patients, all with stage III disease. If, after two cycles of chemotherapy, the established tumor markers alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), human chorionic-gonadotropin (HCG) and/or lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were normalized, the initially increased enzyme activities were declined to normal values as well. Peaking concentrations of one or more of the tumor markers during induction chemotherapy, probably due to tumor cell lysis, were found in 34 of 45 marker-positive patients (76%). In addition, increases of one or more of the investigated enzyme activities were also noticed in 20 patients. In 76% of these patients the highest point of the tumor marker concentration coincided well with that of the enzyme activities. Indications are given that the peak activities were probably not caused by liver damage. Enzyme elevations were also found in 3 out of 7 patients with progressive disease. The behaviour of the enzyme activities of GGT, AP, sGOT and sGPT in patients with a disseminated non-seminomatous testicular tumor coincided with the known tumor markers. It favors the hypothesis that these enzymes are synthesized in the tumor. The mortality amongst stage III patients with or without initially raised GGT levels differed significantly (P less than 0.02). Finally, it is concluded that in patients with a non-seminomatous testicular tumor, sGOT, sGPT, GGT and AP cannot be used to diagnose liver function.
Normal values for alkaline phosphatase, glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase and glutamic pyruvic transaminase in rats and dogs were determined by optimised assay methods. It was also demonstrated that haemolysis caused the results to deviate considerably from the true values.
The activities of serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) and glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT) in 72 Libyan diabetic patients were determined. The respective mean values were 24 +/- 1.1 U/L and 23.03 +/- 0.87 U/L. Significant correlations were found between the activities of GOT or GPT and fasting blood glucose, age, body mass index, heart rate and blood pressure levels. The mean values of GOT and GPT in diabetic patients with secondary complications were significantly higher than those without complications. On the other hand, patients with family history of diabetes have higher mean values of GOT and GPT when compared with those without diabetes in the family.
Aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase levels showed considerable increase during initial (1 to 9 days) period of infection in all the experimental groups of mice and their level reached higher values than in the controls. The increase of enzymes was influenced by the degree of retention of worm load and the immunological damage caused by Ancylostoma caninum larvae within the host system.