Functional size of acyl coenzyme A:diacylglycerol acyltransferase by radiation inactivation.

Rat liver acyl coenzyme A:diacylglycerol acyltransferase, an intrinsic membrane activity associated with the endoplasmic reticulum, catalyzes the terminal and rate-limiting step in triglyceride synthesis. This enzyme has never been purified nor has its gene been isolated. Inactivation by ionizing radiation and target analysis were used to determine its functional size in situ. Monoexponential radiation inactivation curves were obtained which indicated that a single-sized unit of 72 +/- 4 kDa is required for expression of activity. The size corresponds only to the protein portion of the target and may represent one or several polypeptides.

Radiation inactivation analysis of rat liver microsomal glucose-6-phosphatase.

Radiation inactivation analysis was utilized to estimate the sizes of the units catalyzing the various activities of hepatic microsomal glucose-6-phosphatase. This technique revealed that the target molecular weights for mannose-6-P phosphohydrolase, glucose-6-P phosphohydrolase, and carbamyl-P:glucose phosphotransferase activities were all about Mr 75,000. These results are consistent with the widely held view that all of these activities are catalyzed by the same protein or proteins. Certain observations indicate that the molecular organization of microsomal glucose-6-phosphatase is better described by the conformational hypothesis which envisions the enzyme as a single covalent structure rather than by the substrate transport model which requires the participation of several physically separate polypeptides. These include the findings: 1) that the target sizes for glucose-6-P phosphohydrolase and carbamyl-P:glucose phosphotransferase activities were not larger than that for mannose-6-P phosphohydrolase in intact microsomes and 2) that the target size for glucose-6-P phosphohydrolase in disrupted microsomes was not less than that observed in intact microsomes. These findings are most consistent with a model for glucose-6-phosphatase of a single polypeptide or a disulfide-linked dimer which spans the endoplasmic reticulum with the various activities of this multifunctional enzyme residing in distinct protein domains.

[Radiation sensitivity of membrane-bound glucose-6-phosphatase]. / Radiatsionnaia chuvstvitel'nost' membranosviazannoi gliukozo-6-fosfatazy.

A comparative study was made of the effect of X-radiation on the membrane-bound glucoso-6-phosphatase of the nuclear membrane and microsomal fraction of calf thymus cells. Dose- and concentration-dependencies of inactivation of glucoso-6-phosphatase are indicative of a higher radiosensitivity of glucoso-6-phosphatase of nuclear membranes than that of microsomes. This difference in radiosensitivity is associated with the peculiarities of the composition and structural organization of these two membrane systems of a cell.

Photosensitization of mitochondrial adenosine-triphosphatase and adenylate kinase by hematoporphyrin derivative in vitro.

Mitochondrial ATPase and adenylate kinase activity of hepatoma cells were inhibited by hematoporphyrin derivative (HPD) followed by photoirradiation. Inhibition of ATPase activity was a dose- and time-related event. Malonaldehyde (MDA) content of mitochondrial membranes was markedly increased by HPD plus light. The content of mouse liver microsomal cytochrome P-450 was greatly increased after intraperitoneal injection of HPD for 4 days (5 mg/kg/day). The liver weight, and levels of liver microsomal G-6-phosphatase, MDA and triglyceride (TG) showed no difference in treated vs. control animals. The data presented here demonstrate that mitochondria may be a sensitive site of action of HPD photosensitization, and inactivation of ATPase and adenylate kinase may be an important contributing factor to tumor cell damage and death.

On the mechanism of a radiation-induced change in enzymic differentiation during development.

In experiments on glucose-6-phosphatase and tyrosine aminotransferase it was shown that radiation induces changes in enzymic differentiation in perinatal rat liver. A study was made of the probable reasons for the observed changes. It was shown that the macromolecular system of the protein enzyme synthesis was not damaged by the radiation doses used. The observed decrease in glucose-6-phosphatase activity during late embryogenesis, after pre-irradiation at early organogenesis, is eliminated by administration of exogenous thyroxine. A radiation-induced rise in the tyrosine aminotransferase activity during the perinatal period correlated with the cyclic AMP system status. It is proposed that modification of enzymic differentiation after irradiation results from the change in the amount of inductors.

Radiation effects on alkaline phosphatase and glucose-6-phosphatase in anatomically different regions of mouse intestine.

The effect of gamma irradiation on alkaline phosphatase and glucose-6-phosphate has been studied in three anatomically different regions of the small intestine at a surface dose of 400 R. Both the enzymatic activities were shown to be enhanced in duodenum, jejunum and ileum 24 hours after irradiation. The activity of alkaline phosphatase on day 3 tendeed to be low as compared to day 1 post irradiation, but glucose-6-phosphatase continued to rise even after day 3. Maximum rise of glucose-6-phosphatase was observed in the jejunum. On day 9, alkaline phosphatase was diminished below the controls in the whole of intestine, but appeared to be normal on day 10. Glucose-6-phosphatase in duodenum and jejunum on the other hand was comparable to that of control mice; but in ileum, the activity of this enzyme was below the normal values. Physiological significances of these enzymes in intestine has been discussed.