Diethylstilbestrol. Interactions with membranes and proteins and the different effects upon Ca2+- and Mg2+-dependent activities of the F1-ATPase from Rhodospirillum rubrum

Triphenyltin as an inhibitor of membrane-bound pyrophosphatase of Rhodospirillum rubrum

The effect of triphenyltin on the activity of membrane-bound pyrophosphatase of Rhodospirillum rubrum was investigated. Triphenyltin inhibits the hydrolysis of chromatophore membrane-bound pyrophosphatase in a pH-dependent pattern, being maximal at pH 9-10. At basic pH values, the inhibition produced by this organotin on membrane-bound pyrophosphatase is very similar to that produced on the chromatophore H+ATPase (I50 = 14.4 and 10 microM, respectively). Detergent-solubilized membrane-bound pyrophosphatase is also inhibited by triphenyltin, but the cytoplasmic enzyme of R. rubrum is inhibited only slightly. The inhibitory effect of triphenyltin on membrane-bound pyrophosphatase is the same with Mg-PPi or Zn-PPi, and is dependent on the chromatophore membrane concentration. Triphenyltin modified mainly the Vmax of the enzyme, and only slightly its Km. Free Mg2+ does not reverse the inhibition. Reducing agents prevent triphenyltin inhibition of the membrane-bound pyrophosphatase, but their effect is due to an alteration of the inhibitor, and not to a modification of thiol groups of the enzyme. The most likely site for triphenyltin inhibition in chromatophore membrane-bound pyrophosphatase is a component either within or closely associated with the membrane.

Adenosine 5'-triphosphate binding to bovine serum albumin

Binding of ATP to bovine serum albumin was shown by ultrafiltration and NMR. The binding was pH dependent. Scatchard analysis revealed that at pH 5.4, 6.4 and 7.4, dissociation constant Kd was 13, 40 and 120 microM, respectively, and no binding was observed at pH 8.4. The binding stoichiometry was 1:1 for all pH. Dimer of BSA did not bind ATP. From chemical shifts of 31P-NMR, Kd was estimated to be 15 microM at pH 5.4, which is very close to that determined by ultrafiltration. While adenosine did not interfere with the binding. GTP, dCTP, ADP, UTP, AMP, phosphate and pyrophosphate were competitive inhibitors and their inhibition constants Ki were 25, 32, 36, 50, 130, 1000 and 186 microM, respectively. Fatty acids such as lauric acid and palmitic acid did not interfere with the binding. Warfarin was a non-competitive inhibitor. Cl- competitively inhibited the binding, and the inhibition constant was 20 mM. The dissociation constants of the Cl- binding were reported to be 0.42 mM for the first binding site, 10-5 mM for the second and 303-143 mM for the third [G. Scatchard, W.T. Yap, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 86 (1964) 3434; G. Scatchard et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 79 (1957) 12]. This suggests that the ATP binding site may be the second Cl- binding site.

Characterization of the oligomycin-sensitivity properties of the F1F0-ATPase in mitochondria from rats infected with the liver fluke Fasciola hepatica

The F1F0-ATPase activity of liver mitochondria isolated from rats infected with Fasciola hepatica at 3 and 4 weeks post-infection showed a marked loss of sensitivity to oligomycin and to N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide. A loss of sensitivity to diethylstilbestrol was also demonstrated at 4 weeks post-infection. Recovery was apparent in most cases by 6 weeks post-infection. No significant difference in latent ATPase activity was observed between mitochondria from control and infected livers at any stage of the infection. The mitochondria from infected livers were therefore considered to have a full complement of the F1 moiety of the F1F0-ATPase complex. Purification of the mitochondrial ATPase from 4-week infected livers resulted in a very low yield of an oligomycin-insensitive complex. This was due to a failure to enrich specific activity during purification. The evidence presented indicates that infection with Fasciola hepatica gives rise to alterations in the function of the host liver mitochondrial ATPase, namely loss of inhibitor sensitivity and apparent structural alterations of the ATPase complex.

ATP binding to bovine serum albumin

Specific binding of ATP to bovine serum albumin (BSA) is demonstrated employing ATP derivatives spin-labeled at either N6 or C8 of adenine ring or at the ribose moiety. Based on a 1:1 stoichiometry binding constants are in the 50-100 microM range. Binding is largely competitive with ATP or stearic acid. A small fraction of the labeled nucleotides could not be liberated by these ligands. Binding of AMP is in the millimolar range, only.

Effects of cyclofenil diphenol, an agent which disrupts Golgi structure, on proteoglycan synthesis in chondrocytes

1. Cyclofenil diphenol (F6060), a weak non-steroidal oestrogen, was shown previously to inhibit [35S]proteoglycan synthesis [Mason, Lineham, Phillipson & Black (1984) Biochem. J. 223, 401-412] and to induce fragmentation of the Golgi apparatus into small vesicles [Lancaster, Fryer, Griffiths & Mason (1989) J. Cell Sci. 92, 271-280] in cultures of Swarm chondrosarcoma chondrocytes. Two structurally related compounds, F6204 and F6091, show a similar concentration-related effect, with complete inhibition of [35S]proteoglycan synthesis at 90 micrograms/ml. The apparent [3H]protein synthesis is only approx. 40% inhibited with [3H]lysine as precursor. Stilboestrol, clomiphene and tamoxiphen are also potent inhibitors of [35S]proteoglycan synthesis. 2. Syntheses of chondroitin 4-[35S]sulphate and chondroitin 6-[35S]sulphate, which are Golgi-mediated events, are inhibited 40-68% and 3-48% respectively by concentrations of cyclofenil between 50 and 70 micrograms/ml. [3H]Hyaluronan synthesis, which occurs by a different mechanism at the plasma membrane, is inhibited by 47-66%. These results suggest that cyclofenil may act via more than one inhibitory mechanism. Cyclofenil diphenol inhibits polymerization of chondroitin sulphate on to p-nitrophenyl beta-xyloside even when the chondrocytes are loaded with the initiator prior to treatment. 3. Cyclofenil diphenol interferes with the cellular uptake of amino acids via the system A carrier, as shown by inhibition of uptake of methylaminoisobutyric acid, a specific substrate for this system. The drug had no effect on the uptake of 2-deoxyglucose by the cells. 4. Cyclofenil diphenol (90 micrograms/ml) caused a decrease in the pool size of UDP-N-acetylglucosamine, UDP-N-acetylgalactosamine and UDP-hexoses, but this was insufficient to account for the accompanying profound inhibition of [35S]proteoglycan synthesis. Entry of [3H]glucosamine into the cell and into the UDP-N-acetylhexosamine pool did not appear to be affected. 5. Cyclofenil diphenol inhibited the substitution of 3H-labelled proteoglycan core protein with chondroitin sulphate chains. Core protein was identified in treated cultures on the basis of immunoprecipitation with an antiserum against the hyaluronate-binding region and distinguished from precipitated proteoglycan on SDS/PAGE.

Amount and turnover rate of the F0F1-ATPase and the stoichiometry of its inhibition by oligomycin in Rhodospirillum rubrum chromatophores

The amount of F1-ATPase in chromatophores from Rhodospirillum rubrum was determined by Western blotting using anti-RrF1 rabbit antibodies. 9.1 mmol F1 (mol bacteriochlorophyll)-1 was obtained or 14% of the total protein content of the chromatophores. The turnover rate of the F0F1-ATPase was 17 molecules ATP s-1 during synthesis, 2 molecules ATP s-1 during hydrolysis under coupled conditions with Mg2+ as the divalent cation, and 7 molecules ATP s-1 during hydrolysis in the presence of carbonyl cyanide p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone. Binding of 1 mol oligomycin/mol F0F1-ATPase was found to inhibit the activities of the enzyme completely. A single binding site was found with a Kd of approximately 2 microM.