Cationic modulation of human dopamine transporter: dopamine uptake and inhibition of uptake.

Effects of cations on dopamine (DA) uptake into cells expressing the human dopamine transporter and on inhibition of DA uptake by various substrates and inhibitors were investigated by using rotating disk electrode voltammetry. The Na(+) dependence of DA uptake varied with Na(+) substitutes, hyperbolic with Li(+), almost linear at 1 microM DA but hyperbolic at 8 microM DA with choline, and sigmoidal with K(+). With Na(+) substituted by Li(+), K([DA]) decreased and V(app) remained constant with increasing [Na(+)], whereas K([Na+]) decreased and V(app) increased with increasing [DA], suggesting an ordered sequence with Na(+) binding before DA. Similar trends for the Na(+)-DA interactions were observed in the presence of cocaine. Cocaine inhibited DA uptake solely by increasing K([DA]), with its K(i) not significantly different at 55 and 155 mM [Na(+)], whereas it inhibited Na(+) stimulation by reducing V(app) more than K([Na+]) at 1 microM DA, and V(app) only and less potently at 8 microM DA. Thus, cocaine may compete with DA, not with Na(+), for the transporter, and might not follow a strictly ordered reaction with Na(+). With Na(+) substituted by K(+), K([DA]) or K([Na+]) became insensitive to Na(+) or DA. K(+) impaired the DA uptake mainly by reducing V(app,) but affected cocaine inhibition by elevating K(i). Despite their different patterns for inhibiting DA uptake, nontransportable inhibitors cocaine, methylphenidate, mazindol, and 1-[2-[bis(4-fluorophenyl)methoxy]ethyl]-4-(3-phenyl-2-propyl)piperazi ne (GBR12909) showed similarly modest Na(+) dependence in their K(i) values. In contrast, substrates DA, m-tyramine, and amphetamine displayed a similarly stronger Na(+) requirement for their apparent affinities.

Voltammetric studies on mechanisms of dopamine efflux in the presence of substrates and cocaine from cells expressing human norepinephrine transporter.

The effects of substrates m-tyramine and beta-phenethylamine, as well as cocaine, on the DA efflux from a cell line stably expressing the human norepinephrine transporter (hNET) were investigated by using rotating disk electrode voltammetry. Both the substrates and cocaine induced apparent DA efflux in a concentration-dependent manner. Their EC50 values for inducing DA efflux were similar to their IC50 values for inhibiting DA uptake. The substrate-induced DA efflux was inhibited by various NET blockers, enhanced by raising the internal [Na+] with Na+,K+-ATPase inhibition, but was insensitive to membrane potential-altering agents valinomycin, veratridine, and high [K+]. The initial rate of m-tyramine-induced DA efflux was related to preloaded [DA] in a manner defined by a Michaelis-Menten expression. In contrast, DA efflux in the presence of cocaine displayed a much slower efflux rate, lower efficacy, was not stimulated by elevated internal [Na+], and was nonsaturable with preloaded [DA]. Single exponential kinetic analysis of the entire time course of the DA efflux showed that the apparent first-order rate constant for m-tyramine-induced DA efflux declined with increased preloaded [DA], whereas that for the DA efflux in the presence of cocaine was unchanged with varying preloaded [DA]. These results suggest that the substrates stimulate the NET-dependent DA efflux by increasing the accessibility of the NET to internal DA, whereas cocaine "uncovers" NET-independent DA efflux by reducing the accessibility of diffused/leaked external DA to the NET.

Human norepinephrine transporter kinetics using rotating disk electrode voltammetry.

Rotating disk electrode (RDE) voltammetry is applied to the measurement of the transport of the catecholamine neurotransmitters norepinephrine (4-(2-amino-1-hydroxyethyl)-1,2-benzenediol, NE) and dopamine (3,4-dihydroxyphenethylamine, DA) in suspensions of LLC-NET cells, a line of porcine kidney cells expressing the human norepinephrine transporter (hNET). Initial rate of transport was assessed by following the initial decrease in neurotransmitter after its addition to the cell suspension, as measured by the decrease in oxidation current at +0.45 V vs Ag/AgCl. The initial rate of norepinephrine uptake was saturable, with Vmax and KM of 197 +/- 17 amol min-1 cell-1 and 1.64 +/- 0.46 microM, respectively. The RDE method also allows observation of outward transport (efflux) of the DA or NE previously taken up by the cells. Outward transport was induced by the addition of either d-amphetamine (d-AMPH) or p-tyramine (4-hydroxyphenethylamine, p-TYR), which are also substrates for the NE transporter. The technique was also used to monitor accelerated NE uptake by cells preloaded with p-TYR, a phenomenon distinguishing carriers from channels. Together, these findings document the utility of RDE for the nonisotopic measurement of neurotransmitter influx and efflux from transfected mammalian cells.

Cooperative interactions in the binding of ethidium ion to the self-complementary ribodinucleoside monophosphates CpG and GpC.

Complexes exhibiting the characteristics of cooperative interactions are formed by ethidium ion and the self-complementary dinucleoside monophosphates CpG and GpC. Complex formation, observed with an ethidium ion selective electrode, can be described by an equilibrium binding model in which complexes are formed with dinucleoside:ethidium combining ratios of 2:1, 2:2, and 2:3. The total amount of ethidium bound in 2:2 and 2:3 complexes, as calculated from the model, is proportional to a circular dichroism band in CpG-ethidium spectra near 305 nm. Van't Hoff analysis of the model equilibrium constants reveals that the addition of ethidium ion to the 2:1 and 2:2 species is exothermic and that the corresponding entropy changes are large and negative. Cooperative interactions in the binding of ethidium ion and of other ligands to some natural and synthetic polymeric nucleic acids have now been observed in several laboratories, but the present work shows that the effect can arise even with nucleic acid fragments as small as dinucleosides. Apparently, a macromolecular nucleic acid is not essential for cooperative interactions.

Ethidium cooperativity in the formation of complexes with CpG.

The formation of complexes between the self-complementary ribo-dinucleoside monophosphate CpG and ethidium ion is observed by use of an ethidium ion selective electrode. The ratio of total CpG to total ethidium was varied from 50:1 to .4:1, with CpG concentrations ranging from 0.2 to 1.1 mM. Scatchard plots show that the system is strongly cooperative with respect to ethidium ion; cooperativity with respect to dinucleoside has been previously reported (Krugh, T.R., Wittlin, F.N., and Cramer, S.P. (1975) Biopolymers 14,197-210). Cooperative behavior with respect to ethidium ion implies the existence of complexes containing at least two molecules of ethidium ion in combination with one or more CpG molecules.

A comparison of van't Hoff and calorimetric heats of binding to DNA using an ethidium selective electrode.

A liquid membrane electrode selective for ethidium ion was used to measure free ethidium in mixtures with calf thymus DNA. Electrode response was unaffected by variation in ionic strength from 1 mM to 0.5 M, and was not degraded over the temperature range studied. DNA-ethidium binding isotherms obtained with the electrode at 17.4, 25.4, 30.1, and 40.6 degrees C were fitted to a single class of excluded sites model for v ranging from 0.01 to 0.16. van't Hoff analysis of these data yielded delta H = -8300 cal/mol ethidium bound (in 0.5 M KCl, 10 mM Tris buffer, pH 10, 1 mM EDTA). Direct calorimetric measurements of the heat of complex formation led to a value of -7600 cal/mol at 25 degrees C in the same medium; the two results were not significantly different at the 95% confidence level. The agreement supports the validity of the ethidium selective electrode, and illustrates its utility in the study of ligand binding to nucleic acids and related materials.

A calorimetric investigation of the binding of indole and phenylethane boronic acid to chymotrypsin.

The heat of formation of the chymotrypsin-phenylethane boronic acid complex has been observed calorimetrically from pH 4 to 8 at 25 degrees C and is found to be pH-dependent, changing from near -6 kcal/mol at pH 4 to -13 kcal/mol at pH 8. The heat of formation of the chymotrypsin-indole complex is a nearly constant -6 kcal/mol over most of the same pH range. alpha-Chymotrypsin has been purified by pH gradient elution from an immobilized lima bean inhibitor column. Solutions of the enzyme up to 400 microM, prepared in this manner, have a zero heat of dilution from pH 5 to 8 in 0.1 M KCl, with or without added 0.05 M Tris, N-(tris[hydroxy-methyl]methyl-2-amino) ethanesulfonic acid, 4-morpholineethanesulfonic acid, or acetate buffers. Binding of phenylethane boronic acid causes a pH-dependent decrease in proton binding to chymotrypsin; the decrease in proton binding evoked by formation of the indole complex is much less, with a much smaller pH dependence. The calorimetric and proton-binding results are applied to a model for boronic acid binding (Hanai, K. (1976) J. Biochem. (Tokyo) 79, 107-116). We conclude that the thermodynamics of formation of the trigonal boronic acid complex are quite similar to those for the formation of the noncovalent complex formed by indole and related ligands. The trigonal-tetrahedral tautomerism in the boronic acid-chymotrypsin complex is characterized by thermodynamic changes similar to those accompanying the binding of virtual substrates to chymotrypsin.

A calorimetric comparison of trypsin and its anhydro modification in complex formation with Kunitz soybean inhibitor.

The heat of complex formation between native trypsin or its anhydro modification (Ako, H., Foster, R. J., and Ryan, C. J. (1972) Biochem. Biophys. Res Commun. 47, 1402--1407) with native or cleaved Kunitz soybean inhibitor (Finkenstadt, W. R., and Laskowski, M., Jr. (1965) J. Biol. Chem. 240, 962--963) has been observed from pH 3.5 to 7.5. Steep dependence of reaction heat upon pH between pH 3.5 and 4.25 is observed with native inhibitor in reaction with both trypsin and anhydrotrypsin. The character of this heat-pH relationship is consistent with a cooperative process involving three to four ionizable groups. Above pH 4.25, trypsin and anhydrotrypsin in reaction with native inhibitor have quite different pH dependencies. Native trypsin shows an apparent pK near pH 5, whereas anhydrotrypsin + inhibitor reaction heat remains nearly constant from pH 4.5 to 6, and shows an apparent pK near pH 7.0. Above pH 4, the reaction heat-pH relations for native or cleaved inhibitor in reaction with trypsin are only slightly different (Barnhill, M. T., Jr., and Trowbridge, C. G. (1975) J. Biol. Chem. 250, 5501--5507). On the other hand, substitution of cleaved for native inhibitor in reaction with anhydrotrypsin causes a greatly reduced reaction heat, with no clearly developed pH dependence from pH 5.5 to 7.5. The reaction heat-pH relationships are analyzed thermodynamically in terms of the temperature coefficient of a pH-dependent equilibrium constant. It is clear that conversion of the active site serine side chain of trypsin to dehydroalanine changes the pH dependence of its reaction heat with soybean inhibitor, and that the complex formed is sensitive to the state of the scissile inhibitor bond. These differences provide a comparison of a protein-protein association with and without covalent bond formation between reactants.

Gonadal receptors. I. Evidence for irreversibility in the binding of human chorionic gonadotropin and human luteinizing hormone.

The binding of human chorionic gonadotropin and human luteinizing hormone to particulate receptors of rat testes has generally been assumed to follow an equilibrium model similar to that proposed for many enzyme systems. Our work shows that equilibrium dissociation constant (Kd) and number of hormone binding sites (Bmax) are highly sensitive to changes in hormone and/or receptor concentration and to treatment received by tissue or receptor preparation prior to the assay. The results of binding assays obtained using receptor preparation pretreated with hormone (labeled as well as unlabeled) indicated that the binding reaction between hormone and receptor was irreversible and that pretreatment of the tissue with hormone greatly alters the number of high affinity gonadotropin binding sites in the testicular homogenate. Data from studies involving increasing receptor concentrations revealed that increasing the mass of particulate receptors in the binding assays leads to higher Kd as well as Bmax values. These findings are incompatible with a binding model based upon occupancy of receptor sites and the state of equilibrium implied. The incompatibilities are analyzed and an alternate model advanced (Bhalla, V.K., Trowbridge, C.G., Chen, C.J.H., Lindeman, J.G. and Rojas, F.J. (1979) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 584, 436--453).

Gonadal receptors. II. Effects of time and reaction volume upon the binding of human chorionic gonadotropin and human luteinizing hormone to particulate receptors.

The effect of reaction volume upon the binding of gonadotropins by particulate receptors was studied. Two experimental approaches were used: one involved increasing the reaction volume of the binding assay (i.e. diluting the hormone and receptor concentrations and will be referred to as buffer coincubation studies) and the other involved incubating the testicular homogenate in various buffer volumes prior to the binding assay (buffer preincubation stidies). The results showed that the number of hormone binding sites inferred from Scatchard analysis was inversely related to the reaction volume in the coincubation as well as in the preincubation studies. Time-dependent dissociation of receptors from the intact testis was demonstrated by perifusion studies and the loss of receptors from intact testis correlated with the appearance of soluble factors (Bhalla, V.K., Haskell, J., Grier, H. and Mahesh, V.B. (1976) J. Biol. Chem. 251, 4947--4957) in the eluate obtained. The results obtained along with those presented in the preceding manuscript (Chen, C.J.H., Lindeman, J.G., Trowbridge, C.G. and Bhalla, V.K. (1979) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 284, 407--435) question the validity of the rapid equilibrium model which assumes reversible hormone occupancy of a fixed number of receptor sites. An alternate binding model is proposed herein and its implications are discussed.

Reaction heat variation with pH in formation of the trypsin-soybean inhibitor complex.

The heat of reaction between beta-trypsin and Kunitz soybean inhibitor (STI) hasbeen measured at 5 degrees and 25 degrees from pH 4 to 8.5. Corresponding measuremenportion of tRNA-Gly2-GGA/G molecules isolated from E. coli cells. The missense suppressor mutation, glyTsuA36(HA), results in a C yields U base substitution at the 3' end of the anticodon of tRNA-Gly2-GGA/G(nucleotide position 38). Asecondary effect of this base substitution is the modification of the A residue directly adjacent to the 3' end of the anticodon of tRNA-Gly2-suA36(HA), suggesting that the enzymes responsible for this modification recognize the anticodon sequencesof prospective tRNA substrates. The creation of a missense-suppressing tRNA, tRNA-Gly2-suA36(HA), by an alteration of the anticodon sequence of tRNA-Gly2-GGA/G is analogous to mechanisms whereby other suppressor tRNAs have arisen. The high degree of nucleotide sequence homology between the amino acid acceptor stems and anticodon regions may be recognized by the glycyl-tRNA synthetase; the involvement of theanticodon region in the synthetase recognition process is supported by the greatly decreased rate of aminoacylation of tRNA-Gly2-suA36(HA).