A sensitive method for estimation of oxaloacetate

[Activity of liver mitochondrial NAD+-dependent dehydrogenases of the krebs cycle in rats with acetaminophen-induced hepatitis developed under conditions of alimentary protein deficiency]

Activity of isocitrate dehydrogenase, α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase, and the NAD(+)/NADН ratio were studied in the liver mitochondrial fraction of rats with toxic hepatitis induced by acetaminophen under conditions of alimentary protein deprivation. Acetaminophen-induced hepatitis was characterized by a decrease of isocitrate dehydrogenase, α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase and malate dehydrogenase activities, while the mitochondrial NAD(+)/NADН ratio remained at the control level. Modeling of acetaminophen-induced hepatitis in rats with alimentary protein caused a more pronounced decrease in the activity of NAD(+)-dependent dehydrogenases studied and a 2.2-fold increase of the mitochondrial NAD(+)/NADН ratio. This suggests that alimentary protein deprivation potentiated drug-induced liver damage.

Studies in the ketosis of fasting

A series of experiments was performed during the induction of starvation ketosis and in the acute reversal of the ketotic state. In contrast to the predictions of two widely held theories of ketogenesis, control of acetoacetate production by the liver appeared to be unrelated to changes in fatty acid mobilization from the periphery, fatty acid oxidation, fatty acid synthesis, or the acetyl coenzyme A concentration in the liver.Ketosis of fasting was shown to be reversible within 5 minutes by the injection of glucose or insulin. This effect was due to a prompt cessation of acetoacetate production by the liver. The possibility is raised that the ketosis of fasting is due to a direct activation of acetoacetate-synthesizing enzymes secondary to a starvation-induced depression of insulin secretion by the pancreas.

6-Phosphogluconate dehydrogenase: the mechanism of action investigated by a comparison of the enzyme from different species

The mechanism of action of 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase with the alternative substrate 2-deoxy 6-phosphogluconate was investigated using enzymes from sheep liver, human erythrocytes and Trypanosoma brucei. The three enzymes oxidize 2-deoxy 6-phosphogluconate, but only the sheep liver enzyme releases the intermediate 2-deoxy,3-keto 6-phosphogluconate. Kinetic comparison showed that an increase in the rate of NADP+ reduction at high pH is due to increased release of the intermediate, rather than an increase in the overall reaction rate. 2-Deoxy,3-keto 6-phosphogluconate is decarboxylated by the erythrocyte and trypanosome enzymes but not the liver one in the absence of either NADPH or 6-phosphogluconate, which act as activators. The pH dependence of decarboxylation and the degree of activation suggest that 6-phosphogluconate is the activator which operates under normal assay conditions, while NADPH acts mainly by increasing the binding of the intermediate. The data suggest that the activity of 6PGDH is subjected to a two-way regulation: NADPH, which regulates the pentose phosphate pathway, inhibits the enzyme, while 6-phosphogluconate, levels of which rise when NADPH inhibition is removed, acts as an activator ensuring that 6-phosphogluconate is rapidly removed.

METABOLISM OF DICARBOXYLIC ACIDS IN ACETOBACTER XYLINUM

Benziman, Moshe (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel), and A. Abeliovitz. Metabolism of dicarboxylic acids in Acetobacter xylinum. J. Bacteriol. 87:270-277. 1964.-During the oxidation of fumarate or l-malate by whole cells or extracts of Acetobacter xylinum grown on succinate, a keto acid accumulated in the medium in considerable amounts. This acid was identified as oxaloacetic acid (OAA). No accumulation of OAA was observed when succinate served as substrate. These phenomena could be explained by the kinetics of malate, succinate, and OAA oxidation. OAA did not inhibit malate oxidation, even when present at high concentrations. When cells were incubated with OAA or fumarate in the presence of C(14)O(2), only the beta-carboxyl of residual OAA was found to be labeled. Evidence was obtained indicating that nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) or nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP) are not directly involved in malate oxidation by cell-free extracts. The results suggest that malate oxidation in A. xylinum is irreversible, and is catalyzed by an enzyme which is not NAD- or NADP-linked.

NADPH activates a decarboxylation reaction catalysed by lamb liver 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase

NADP-dependent lamb liver 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase catalyses the oxidative decarboxylation of 2-deoxy-6-phosphogluconate, an analogue of the natural substrate. The first products of the reaction are NADPH and 3-keto-2-deoxy-6-phosphogluconate. The NADPH, released from the enzyme, binds to the coenzyme site of the same or the other subunit, activating the decarboxylation reaction in which has not a redox role, since it can be substituted by an analogue devoid of enzymatic redox power. These findings are compared to those obtained with other NADP-dependent decarboxylating dehydrogenases.

Measurement of aminotransferases: Part 1. Aspartate aminotransferase

Aminotransferases are ubiquitous enzymes of mammalian cells and several are of important diagnostic use. The application of aspartate aminotransferase activity measurements in serum from individuals suffering from myocardial infarction brought about a new dimension in clinical laboratory testing in the 1950s. This review focuses on measurement techniques for aspartate aminotransferase and their application (a subsequent article will review other aminotransferases). Assay techniques measuring enzyme activity are direct spectrophotometric measurements, manometric techniques, assays using dye substances, coupled enzyme techniques, and radiometric procedures. Of these procedures, the one employing malate dehydrogenase and NADH is the most important and is covered in particular detail. The estimation of the mitochondrial isoenzyme of aspartate aminotransferase is also of clinical interest, in particular for estimating severity of disease or in specific applications (e.g., chronic alcoholism). Methods reviewed for estimation of this enzyme are electrophoresis, chromatography, differential kinetic behavior, and immunochemical separation. Determination of the enzyme protein by techniques independent of its catalytic activity are also reviewed.

Inhibition of growth by erythritol catabolism in Brucella abortus

The growth of Brucella abortus (US-19) in a complex tryptose-yeast extract medium containing D-glucose is inhibited by 10 mM erythritol. The enzymes of the erythritol pathway, except for D-erythrulose 1-phosphate dehydrogenase (D-glycero-2-tetrulose 1-phosphate:nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) 4-oxidoreductase) were detected in the soluble and membrane fractions of cell extracts. Glucose catabolism by cell extracts was inhibited by erythritol, whereas, phosphorylated intermediates of the hexose monophosphate pathway were converted to pyruvic acid with oxygen consumption. Erythritol kinase (EC 2.7.1.27; adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP): erythritol 1-phosphotransferase) was found to be eightfold higher in activity than the hexokinase in cell extracts. In vivo, ATP is apparently consumed with the accumulation of D-erythrulose 1-phosphate (D-glycero-2-tetrulose 1-phosphate) and no substrate level phosphorylation. ATP levels dropped 10-fold in 30 min after addition of erythritol to log phase cells in tryptose-yeast extract medium with D-glucose as the carbon source. These data suggest bacteriostasis in the presence of erythritol results from the ATP drain caused by erythritol kinase.

Erythritol catabolism by Brucella abortus

Cell extracts of Brucella abortus (British 19) catabolized erythritol through a series of phosphorylated intermediates to dihydroxyacetonephosphate and CO-2. Cell extracts required adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP), nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), Mg2+, inorganic orthophosphate, and reduced glutathione for activity. The first reaction in the pathway was the phosphorylation of mesoerythritol with an ATP-dependent kinase which formed d-erythritol 1-phosphate (d-erythro-tetritol 1-phosphate). d-Erythritol 1-phosphate was oxidized by an NAD-dependent dehydrogenase to d-erythrulose 1-phosphate (d-glycero-2-tetrulose 1-phosphate). B. abortus (US-19) was found to lack the succeeding enzyme in the pathway and was used to prepare substrate amounts of d-erythrulose 1-phosphate. d-Erythritol 1-phosphate dehydrogenase (d-erythro-tetritol 1-phosphage: NAD 2-oxidoreductase) is probably membrane bound. d-Erythrulose 1-phosphate was oxidized by an NAD-dependent dehydrogenase to 3-keto-l-erythrose 4-phosphate (l-glycero-3-tetrosulose 4-phosphate) which was further oxidized at C-1 by a membrane-bound dehydrogenase coupled to the electron transport system. Either oxygen or nitrate had to be present as a terminal electron acceptor for the oxidation of 3-keto-l-erythrose 4-phosphate to 3-keto-l-erythronate 4-phosphate (l-glycero-3-tetrulosonic acid 4-phosphate). The beta-keto acid was decarboxylated by a soluble decarboxylase to dihydroxyacetonephosphate and CO-2. Dihydroxyacetonephosphate was converted to pyruvic acid by the final enzymes of glycolysis. The apparent dependence on the electron transport system of erythritol catabolism appears to be unique in Brucella and may play an important role in coupling metabolism to active transport and generation of ATP.

Formation of malate from glyoxylate in animal tissues

1. Incubation of rat liver homogenate with [1-(14)C]glyoxylate, ATP and acetate shows a rapid sequential incorporation of radioactivity into malate, oxaloacetate and citrate. 2. In liver from normal rats the rate of the formation of each substance in question is higher than that in liver from thiamin-deficient rats. 3. The net accumulation of malate is greater with liver from thiamin-deficient rats. Its further metabolism is retarded, it is suggested, by inhibitors formed by a condensation of glyoxylate and oxaloacetate.

Isolation and properties of a beta-alanine transaminaseless mutant of Pseudomonas fluorescens

beta-Alanine catabolism in Pseudomonas fluorescens is initiated by the enzyme beta-alanine transaminase. We have isolated mutants which fail to produce this enzyme and thus cannot grow on beta-alanine as the sole nitrogen source. The accumulation of beta-alanine-1-(14)C has been studied in one of these mutants, strain 67, and in the wild type. In the mutant, beta-alanine remains in a stable intracellular pool, whereas in the wild type conversion of beta-alanine to an intermediate, presumably malonate semialdehyde, and to CO(2) can be detected. The membrane transport system for beta-alanine can be conveniently studied in this transaminaseless mutant.