Effects of Ukrain on the activities of DNA-nicking enzymes.

We studied the effects of Ukrain, a novel antitumor drug, on the activities of calcium, magnesium-dependent endonuclease (CME) and manganese-dependent endonuclease (MnDE) in rat liver nuclei, the activity of topoisomerase I assessed by pUC19 plasmid relaxation and CME activity in the nuclei of lymphocytes from colon cancer patients. Ukrain was found to exert a dose-dependent inhibiting effect on both CME and MnDE, similar to that exerted by erythropoietin, which was used as a reference preparation. Both Ukrain and erythropoietin also caused dose-dependent inhibition of topoisomerase I activity.

In vitro proteolysis of endonucleases in rat liver nuclei extracts.

DNA endonucleases in rat liver nuclei extracts were examined by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by zymogram analysis. Four polypeptides of 120, 54, 31 and 28 kDa, which have DNA endonuclease activity, were shown to occur in the extract isolated in the presence of phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), a proteinase inhibitor. Isolation without PMSF, as well as storage at -20 degrees C, or autodigestion, resulted in multiplication of active polypeptides in the extracts.

The involvement of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate in substrate cycle control in the nonoxidative stage of the pentose phosphate pathway. A phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy study.

The role of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate in the interconversion of sedoheptulose 7-phosphate and sedoheptulose 1,7-bisphosphate in rat liver cytosol fractions was studied by means of phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy. When the activity of 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase was inhibited by a high concentration of ATP, the addition of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate led to a marked decrease in sedoheptulose 7-phosphate levels, accompanied by an increased concentration of ADP. Fructose 2,6-bisphosphate essentially inhibited both the decrease in sedoheptulose 1,7-bisphosphate concentration and the accumulation of Pi in the incubation mixture.

The oxidative inactivation of cytochrome P450 in monooxygenase reactions.

Possible mechanisms of cytochrome P450 self-inactivation during catalytic turnover have been considered. Two ways of hemoprotein inactivation are so far known. The first, studied extensively by many authors, is the formation of active substrate intermediates, capable of modifying heme and apoenzyme.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme activator from purified human neutrophils.

An endogenous ACE activator has been revealed. Neutrophil-enriched human leucocyte preparations released in isotonic media a relatively thermostable factor, capable of increasing the angiotensin-converting enzyme activity 1.6-2.

Determination of the secondary structure of epoxide hydrolase by Raman spectroscopy.

The secondary structure of microsomal epoxide hydrolase was determined by Raman spectroscopy and the effect of the membrane microenvironment studied. The ratios of the four secondary structure contents, alpha-helix: beta-strand:turn:undefined, were found to be 47:24:17:11 and 58:17:15:10 for the solubilized and the membrane-bound epoxide hydrolase, respectively. Based on the spectral analysis in the 2800-2900 cm-1 range, it was concluded that the protein studied produces the disordering effect on the lipid dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine bilayer at 16 degrees C.

Analysis of the nucleotide and derived amino acid sequences of the SsoII restriction endonuclease and methyltransferase.

A 2648-bp fragment from the P4 plasmid of Shigella sonnei strain 47 coding for the SsoII restriction endonuclease (ENase) and methyltransferase (MTase) (recognition sequence 5'-CCNGG) was sequenced. Two divergently arranged open reading frames of 905 bp for the SsoII ENase (R.SsoII) and 1137 bp for the MTase (M.

Increase in activating ability of human platelet guanylate cyclase during aggregation.

The dynamics of changes in the stimulation of human platelet guanylate cyclase by some activators in aggregating platelets was studied. It was shown that ADP-induced aggregation of human platelets (donors) is accompanied by the enhancement of the intensity of guanylate cyclase activation by sodium nitroprusside, L-arginine, protoporphyrin IX and arachidonic acid and also by the increase in cGMP content. Immediately after the induction of aggregation the intensity of guanylate cyclase activation and cGMP content begin to increase.

Effect of insulin on permeability of lysosome membrane in primary monolayer hepatocyte culture of newborn rats under anoxia conditions.

The influence of insulin was studied in the monolayer hepatocyte cultures of newborn rats during anoxia. Insulin (1 x 10(-4) U ml-1) caused a significant increase of acid phosphatase activity in the lysosome-rich subcellular fraction after 20 min exposure of the cells to anoxia and also in experiments in which hepatocytes were incubated with insulin for 1 h in normoxia followed by exposure to anoxia for 20 min. The data obtained suggest that insulin had a stabilizing effect on lysosomal membranes when exposure to insulin was prolonged.

Acidic alpha-D-mannosidase in phenotypically different leukemic lymphoid cells.

The activity of acid alpha-mannosidase in phenotypically characterized lymphoid cells, isolated from peripheral blood, spleen and lymph nodes of patients with various lymphoproliferative disorders has been studied. Cells with different immunophenotypes were shown to have different alpha-mannosidase activity levels. The lowest alpha-mannosidase activity was observed in cells phenotypically corresponding to early B cells obtained from B-CLL patients.

Activation of carboxylic acids by pyrocarbonates. Synthesis of symmetric anhydrides and esters of N-protected amino acids using dialkyl pyrocarbonates as condensing reagents.

Activation of carboxylic acids was achieved via dialkyl pyrocarbonates (ROCO)2O, R = C2H5, i-C3H7, sec-C4H9, tert.-C4H9) in aprotic solvents in the presence tertiary amines. A convenient procedure for the preparation of carboxylic acid anhydrides from carboxylic acids and di-tert.

Comparative study of monomeric reconstituted and membrane microsomal monooxygenase systems of the rabbit liver. II. Kinetic parameters of reductase and monooxygenase reactions.

The kinetic parameters of NADPH-dependent cytochrome P450 LM2 (2B4) reduction and substrate oxidation in the monomeric reconstituted system, consisting of purified NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase and cytochrome P450 LM2 monomers, and in phenobarbital-induced rabbit liver microsomes were compared. In the absence of benzphetamine, NADPH-dependent reduction of cytochrome P450 LM2 was monophasic in the monomeric reconstituted system and biphasic in the microsomes. The presence of the substrate in the monomeric reconstituted system caused the appearance of the fast phase.

Comparative study of monomeric reconstituted and membrane microsomal monooxygenase systems of the rabbit liver. I. Properties of NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase and cytochrome P450 LM2 (2B4) monomers.

Oligomers and monomers of NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase and cytochrome P450 LM2 (2B4) isolated from the liver microsomes of phenobarbital-treated rabbits were examined for physicochemical properties and catalytic activities. As measured using laser correlation spectroscopy the particle sizes of NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase and cytochrome P450 LM2 oligomers were 14.8 +/- 1.

Human chorionic beta-mannosidase: comparison with beta-mannosidase from human cultured fibroblasts.

The conditions for assay of beta-mannosidase activity in human chorionic villi (CV) were studied using the fluorogenic substrate 4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-D-mannopyranoside. A comparison of the biochemical properties of the CV beta-mannosidase with those of the enzyme from human cultured fibroblasts showed their similarity. Like the enzyme from skin fibroblasts, the CV beta-mannosidase had rather high activity.

Dipeptidylpeptidase IV in human leukemic B- and T-cells.

Dipeptidylpeptidase IV (DPP-IV) activity in lymphoid cells of patients with various lymphoproliferative diseases has been assayed. The enzyme activity was detected in lysates of all leukemic T- and B-cells studied. High DPP-IV activity levels (5-7 fold higher than those in mature Th and Ts) were found in T-cells with phenotypes corresponding either to the early thymic stages of maturation, or to activated T-lymphocytes, or to some atypic T-cells.

Increase of brain endogenous monoamine oxidase inhibitory activity (tribulin) in experimental audiogenic seizures in rats: evidence for a monoamine oxidase A inhibiting component of tribulin.

Brain tribulin activity in rats with an inherited predisposition to audiogenic epilepsy was studied after seizures of different intensity were induced by an electric bell. Weak seizures (from 0 to 2 arbitrary units) did not produce any changes in endogenous inhibitory activity towards either monoamine oxidase (MAO) A or B. Moderate seizures were characterized by increases in both MAO A and MAO B inhibitory activity (up to 1.

Cytochrome C (Fe2+) as a competitive inhibitor of NADPH-dependent reduction of cytochrome P450 LM2: locating protein-protein interaction sites in microsomal electron carriers.

The kinetics of NADPH-dependent reduction of cytochrome P450 LM2 in the soluble monomeric reconstituted system in the absence of any substrate is shown to be monophasic. We show that ferrous cytochrome c acts as a competitive inhibitor of the reduction. In the presence of 1 mM benzphetamine an additional extremely fast phase was observed.

Inhibitory potency of some isatin analogues on human monoamine oxidase A and B.

Isatin is an endogenous compound which acts as a selective inhibitor of monoamine oxidase (MAO) B. In this study a range of isatin analogues were tested for their in vitro inhibition of human MAO A and B. Most of the analogues were less potent than isatin.

Use of biospecific interactions of collagen, fibronectin and their fragments in affinity chromatography.

Various aspects of the application of fibronectin-collagen biospecific interactions in affinity chromatography are described. A new biospecific method for one-stage isolation of collagen peptides containing fibronectin-binding sites is proposed. The alpha 1 CB7-peptide of type-I collagen cyanogen bromide cleavage was isolated by means of affinity chromatography on adsorbents containing an immobilized gelatin-binding domain (45,000 relative molecular mass) of fibronectin.

Heparin-binding fibronectin fragments containing cell-binding domains and devoid of hep2 and gelatin-binding domains promote human embryo fibroblast proliferation.

The proliferation promoting activity of various proteolytic fragments of human plasma fibronectin was assayed. Study of this activity in fragments, purified by affinity chromatography, has shown that only heparin-binding fragments were capable of promoting fibroblast proliferation while gelatin- and fibrin-binding fragments were not. Heparin-binding fragments with high affinity for heparin were characterized by high activity levels while those with low heparin affinity were inactive.

Effect of nitroso complexes of some transition metals on the activity of soluble guanylate cyclase.

Effects of nitroso complexes of some transition metals (Fe, Co, Cr), differing in the character of NO oxidation on the activity of human and rat platelet guanylate cyclase were studied. 3 types of nitroso complexes were used: (1) NO group carries a positive charge--a nitrosonium cation (Na2[FeNO + (CN)5]-nitroprusside); (2) NO is neutral--(K3[CrNO(CN)5 and [CoNO(NH3)5]SO4) and (3) NO is coordinated as anion NO- (K3[CoNO-(CN)5]. It is shown that the highest stimulatory effect is produced by sodium nitroprusside, whose activating action is due to the interaction of its NO group with the guanylate cyclase heme.

The use of glycosides of 6- and 8-acylamino-4-methylumbelliferone in studies of the specificity and properties of human lysosomal glycolipid hydrolases.

A series of 6- and 8-acylamino-4-methylumbelliferyl beta-D-galactopyranosides, beta-D-glucopyranosides, and alpha-L-fucopyranosides having various fatty acid residues were synthesized; 6-(9) and 8-hexadecanoylamino-4-methylumbelliferyl beta-D-galactopyranoside (10) were shown to be substrates for human galactocerebrosidase. Analogs of 9 with shorter acyl residues (octanoyl and butanoyl) were substrates for another type of beta-D-galactosidase, i.e.

The role of lipid peroxidation in the possible involvement of membrane-bound monoamine oxidases in gamma-aminobutyric acid and glucosamine deamination in rat brain. Focus on chemical pathogenesis of experimental audiogenic epilepsy.

Incubation of rat brain synaptosomes and mitochondria with LPO inducers (Fe2+ and ascorbate) was accompanied by a decrease of deamination of serotonin (substrate of MAO-A) in mitochondria, but not in synaptosomes, with simultaneous stimulation of GABA and GLCA deamination, apparently owing to modification of catalytic properties of brain membrane-bound MAO. Oxidation of PEA (substrate of MAO-B) was insignificantly altered in both fractions. Reactions of deamination of serotonin, GABA, and GLCA (but not PEA), were highly sensitive to a selective inhibitor of MAO-A pyrazidol (pyrlindole).

Characterization of 6-hexadecanoylamino-4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-D- galactopyranoside as fluorogenic substrate of galactocerebrosidase for the diagnosis of Krabbe disease.

6-Hexadecanoylamino-4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside (HMGal) has been shown to be a specific fluorogenic substrate of galactocerebrosidase and to facilitate the simple enzymatic diagnosis of Krabbe disease in human patients and in twitcher mice. HMGal hydrolysis at pH 4.5 is optimally stimulated by sodium taurocholate (0.