Time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay of steroid hormones.

The use of europium chelates as labels in immunoassays and their sensitive quantitation based on time-resolved fluorescence is reviewed. The technique is applied on competitive solid-phase immunoassays for direct determination of progesterone and estradiol in serum samples. Both antigen- and antibody-labelled competitive assays are described. The nonisotopic label technology, which provides a very high specific activity, as well as the antibody-labelled competitive assays, present several advantages in the assay of haptens as e.g. steroids. As the optimal sensitivity of competitive methods is not limited by the specific activity of the label the steroid assays which employ europium chelates as labels do not show any marked increase in sensitivity as compared to that achieved by using 125I. The potential sensitivity provided by the high specific activity of the label is optimally utilized in noncompetitive immunometric assays.

Bioluminescent assay of NADPH-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase and its substrates and cofactors.

A bioluminescent assay for NADPH-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase and for its substrates and cofactors was developed. The method is based on continuous NADPH monitoring in the reaction. The linear range of the assay for the enzyme activity is from 0.05 U/liter to 30 U/liter. It is about 300 times more sensitive than the corresponding spectrophotometric assay at 340 nm. Good correlation exists between both assays. Isocitrate, NADP, manganese, and magnesium can be measured at picomole levels. The applicability of the assays to serum analysis is discussed.

Direct solid-phase time-resolved immunofluorometric assay of cortisol in serum.

A dissociation-enhanced lanthanide fluoroimmunoassay of serum cortisol based on time-resolved fluorescence is described. The assay is a direct assay, where cortisol immobilized on the wall of a microtiter-strip well competes with cortisol in the sample for the europium-labeled polyclonal antibody. The amount of bound europium-labeled antibody is inversely proportional to the amount of cortisol in the sample. Separation is accomplished by washing the strip well. The assay is carried out in 2 h, at room temperature; it is easy to perform and gives accurate and reliable results. A chaotropic agent, trichloracetic acid, was very effective in releasing cortisol from binding proteins. This finding will have practical importance in the immunoassay field.

Immunoreactive phospholipase A2 in serum in acute pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer.

Immunoreactive phospholipase A2 (EC 3.1.1.4) was measured by a new sensitive time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay in the serum of 58 healthy subjects and 103 patients with acute pancreatitis. Patients with acute pancreatitis were grouped according to the etiology and clinical severity of the disease. The mean phospholipase A2 concentration in the reference (healthy) group was 5.5 (SD 1.9) micrograms/L. In acute pancreatitis the mean phospholipase A2 concentration was increased on the first day after hospital admission in all groups, and returned to normal somewhat more slowly than did serum amylase, especially in the patients with severe alcoholic pancreatitis. In this latter group the mean concentration of serum phospholipase A2 on the first day was 42.6 (SD 29.5) micrograms/L. In patients with pancreatic cancer, serum phospholipase A2 was 29.2 (SD 21.3) micrograms/L. The phospholipase A2 and amylase values were closely associated in all groups. The clinical sensitivities were 90.9% for severe alcoholic pancreatitis and 87.5% for pancreatic cancer. Immunochemical determination of phospholipase A2 in serum provides fast and specific detection of injury to pancreatic acinar cells. In addition to the early diagnosis of acute pancreatitis, follow-up determinations of phospholipase A2 seem to be useful in differentiating between mild and severe forms of pancreatitis.

Bioluminescent assay of lactate dehydrogenase and its isoenzyme-1 activity.

A bioluminescent assay based on the bacterial luciferase reaction has been developed for the determination of total lactate dehydrogenase and heart-specific lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme-1 activity in serum. The lactate dehydrogenase-catalyzed reaction was measured in both directions, but NADH formation (lactate----pyruvate) is recommended because it allows the use of optimal reaction conditions. Internal calibration with a known amount of NADH accounts for possible interference from samples when both NADH formation and consumption are followed. The bioluminescent method is sensitive, has good precision, and is readily automated. Serum lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme-1 was immunochemically isolated and the activity was assayed by bioluminescence. A good correlation between the bioluminescent assays and the conventional spectrophotometric procedure used as reference was obtained.

Time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay of human pancreatic phospholipase A2.

We describe an immunofluorometric assay for human pancreatic phospholipase A2 based on time-resolved fluorescence. The labeled antibody technique in combination with the time-resolved 1-s fluorometric detection of the europium label, which essentially eliminates all background fluorescence, resulted in a high sensitivity (20 ng/L) and a wide (5000-fold) linear range. Nonspecific binding was minimized by treating the solid-phase antibody with NaSCN before coating, to remove endogenous antigen, and by immunosorbent purification of the antibody before labeling with europium. This is a one-incubation, multi-site, solid-phase assay on polystyrene microtiter strips, even though a polyclonal antibody was used. As measured by this assay, activity of immunoreactive phospholipase A2 was found to be above normal in sera of patients suffering from acute pancreatitis.

Simultaneous extraction and combined bioluminescent assay of NAD+ and NADH.

A new method for extracting pyridine nucleotides from tissue samples at room temperature that allows the simultaneous extraction of both the oxidized and reduced nucleotide when using a 70% buffered ethanol solution as the extractant has been developed. The extraction efficiencies for NAD+ and NADH were 91 and 102%, respectively. The extraction method was followed by a combined bioluminescent assay of both nucleotides. A bacterial bioluminescent system, which included luciferase and low levels of a NADH-specific oxidoreductase, was used to produce a constant light intensity directly proportional to the amount of NADH in the tissue extract sample. When the NADH had been measured, the NAD+ present in the extract was enzymatically converted to NADH by the addition of alcohol dehydrogenase, after which the second increase in light level was recorded. The sensitivity of the bioluminescent assay presented here is 5 X 10(-14) mol NADH or NAD+ per assay.

Time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay: a new test for rubella antibodies.

A new solid-phase immunoassay, time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay (TR-FIA), for rubella antibody was developed. The test used polystyrene beads coated with rubella antigen as the solid phase and a chelate of the rare earth metal europium as fluorescent label. A fast light pulse from a xenon flash lamp was used to excite the label, and after a 400-mus delay time the emission fluorescence was measured for 500-mus at 1-ms intervals during a total counting time of 1 s. Background fluorescence of short duration caused by fluorescent serum components and scattering could be eliminated by including the delay time. The TR-FIA was compared with hemagglutination inhibition, single radial hemolysis, and two types of radioimmunoassay (RIA) (a commercial RIA [GammaCoat] and a noncommercial RIA [T-RIA]) by using 60 serum specimens from patients with remote rubella infection. Overall agreement of TR-FIA with hemagglutination inhibition and GammaCoat was 96.7%, with single radial hemolysis 98.3%, and with T-RIA 100%. Linear regression coefficients varied from 0.83 to 0.94, the best being obtained with single radial hemolysis and T-RIA. TR-FIA was also found to be suitable for the diagnosis of acute infections, as significant increases of antibody level were detected in all 30 paired serum specimens tested from patients with an acute rubella infection. Sensitivity and specificity comparable to those of RIA and enzyme immunoassay were obtained with TR-FIA. Furthermore, the advantage that TR-FIA has over RIA is that it incorporates a nonisotopic and stable label; its advantage over EIA is that it is easier to standardize because no additional reaction with substrate is required.

Conformational changes during enzyme catalysis: role of water in the transition state.

The entropy of activation for the synthesis of Ile-tRNA is high and positive. The only likely source of a high delta S is the loss of structured water as the enzyme . substrate complex moves toward the transition state. This requires a change in the orientation or nature of water-organizing residues in the interface between the enzyme . substrate complex and the water. Such changes, which may be some distance from the "active site," are coupled to the active site in such a way that the increased entropy and decreased free energy of the water--enzyme interface is available at the "active site" to reduce the free energy of activation. The effects of Hofmeister anions on KmS and KcatS are consistent with the entropy data.

The mechanism of the aminoacylation of transfer ribonucleic acid: enzyme-product dissociation is not rate limiting.

It has been proposed that the rate-limiting step in the synthesis of aminoacyl-tRNA is the rate at which the product dissociates from the enzyme. The experimental evidence supporting this hypothesis comes from work at low pH and low temperature (although the reaction has been argued to have the same mechanism under physiological conditions). We have reexamined the binding assay by which M. Yarus and P. Berg (1969) (J. Mol. Biol. 42, 171-189) measured the kd for dissociation of Enz-(Ile-tRNA). We find that when overall reaction and dissociation are measured under identical conditions the two rates are not the same. Moreover, while an increase in ionic strength greatly stimulates dissociation, the same increased ionic strength slows aminoacylation. Spermine accelerates overall aminoacylation without affecting dissociation. Because any change in a rate-limiting step must, by definition, cause a parallel change in the overall reaction, these observations prove that under these conditions the synthesis of Ile-tRNA is not limited by the rate of dissociation of Enz-(Ile-tRNA). Entirely similar observations were made for the dissociation of Enz-(Val-tRNA) and the overall synthesis of Val-tRNA at 0 degrees C, PH 5.0. In addition, valine enzyme isolated by nitrocellulose filtration during the course of an aminoacylation was shown not to be saturated with recently synthesized Val-tRNA. The enzyme was in equilibrium with uncharged substrate tRNA and with product Val-tRNA. E. W. Eldred and P. R. Schimmel ((1972) Biochemistry 11, 17-23) report that the formation of Ile-tRNA proceeds at two rates: (a) k = 2 X 10(-2)S(-1) until the enzyme is saturated with the first mole of product, and (b) k = 2 X 10(-3)S(-1) for subsequent cycles. We did not observe this behavior at any pH or temperature with four different amino acid:tRNA ligases. Because aminoacylation proceeds more rapidly than "dissociation" under some conditions, we believe that the binding assay measures not only enzyme-product dissociation but also other slower reactions such as aggregation or disaggregation of Enz-(AA-tRNA). In conjunction with recent studies from other laboratories, this work makes it unlikely that enzyme-product dissociation is the rate-limiting step in the synthesis of aminoacyl-tRNA either at low temperature and pH or under more nearly physiological conditions. From the effect of salt, it would appear that the rate of aminoacylation of tRNA is largely limited by the rate or extent of formation of Enz-(tRNA) (Loftfield, R. B., and Eigner, E. A. (1967), J. Biol. Chem. 242, 5355-5359). Using the binding assay of M. Yarus ((1972) Biochemistry 11, 2050-2060), we find the Kass for Enz-(Ile-tRNA) varies linearly with the Debye-Hückel function at ionic strengths of 0.1-0.4 from 10(8) to 10(6).

The mechanism of aminoacylation of transfer ribonucleic acid. Reactivity of enzyme-bound isoleucyl adenylate.

Isoleucyl adenylate bound to isoleucine:tRNA ligase of Escherichia coli (EC 6.1.1.5; isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase) transfers the isoleucine moiety to tRNA-Ile-E. coli with a half-time of about 35 s at 0 degrees and pH 7.6 in the presence of spermine or Mg2+. If a limited amount of tRNA-Ile is supplied to a mixture of free enzyme and enzyme-bound [14c]isoleucyl adenylate in a medium containing spermine, ATP, and [3H]isoleucine, almost none of the resultant isoleucyl tRNA is derived from preformed enzyme-bound [14C]isoleucyl adenylate. Almost all of the isoleucyl tRNA formed results directly from reaction of free enzyme, ATP, and isoleucine with tRNA. Similar but less clearcut results are obtained when Mg2+ is substituted for spermine. We conclude that isoleucyl adenylate bound to isoleucine:tRNA ligase is not a significant intermediate in the synthesis of isoleucyl tRNA under these conditions.