scholarly journals A study of the effects of reaction with formaldehyde on some optical and physical properties of reticulocyte ribosomes

1969 ◽  
Vol 114 (4) ◽  
pp. 743-751 ◽  
Author(s):  
R A Cox

1. The optical rotatory dispersion and ultraviolet-absorption spectrum of ribosomal RNA in situ appear to be unchanged when the ribosome is dissociated into its RNA and protein moieties. 2. Reaction with 0·05% formaldehyde at 20° for 2hr. ‘fixes’ ribosomes so that they remain intact in 1% sodium dodecyl sulphate. 3. The RNA moiety of the ribosome undergoes a conformational change when ribosomes in 8% formaldehyde are heated at 70° for 10min. and cooled to 20°. After this treatment no double-helical character can be detected, but neither the sedimentation coefficient nor the morphology of the ribosome determined by electron microscopy is altered. 4. It is concluded that the RNA moiety of reticulocyte ribosomes is freely accessible to formaldehyde.

1972 ◽  
Vol 129 (3) ◽  
pp. 665-676 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Holt ◽  
J. M. Creeth

1. The denaturation of ovalbumin by the reagents sodium dodecyl sulphate and guanidinium chloride was investigated, by following the changes in sedimentation velocity, optical rotatory dispersion and viscosity as a function of denaturant concentration. 2. With sodium dodecyl sulphate both the optical-rotatory-dispersion parameters a0 and b0 become more negative, the sedimentation coefficient decreases and the viscosity increases; significant differences in the denaturation profiles are observed. The change in each parameter is indicative of only limited denaturation. 3. With guanidinium chloride the transition occurs over the concentration range 1–4m: more extensive changes occur in all the physical parameters than with sodium dodecyl sulphate. The values of a0 and b0 are indicative of complete denaturation. Reduction by mercaptoethanol produces only minor further changes. 4. Renaturation was attempted from both denaturants, the removal of reagent being accomplished reversibly by controlled slow dialysis. Partial renaturation was observed, but aggregated or insoluble material was produced in both cases at relatively low concentrations of denaturant. Similar behaviour was observed with fully reduced protein in guanidinium chloride–mercaptoethanol; complete renaturation could not be brought about even at very low protein concentrations.


1983 ◽  
Vol 213 (1) ◽  
pp. 225-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Lambert ◽  
R B Freedman

Protein disulphide-isomerase from bovine liver was purified to homogeneity as judged by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, two-dimensional electrophoresis and N-terminal amino acid analysis. The preparative procedure, a modification of that of Carmichael, Morin & Dixon [(1977) J. Biol. Chem. 252, 7163-7167], is much faster and higher-yielding than previous procedures, and the final purified material is of higher specific activity. The enzyme has Mr 57 000 as determined by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, both in the presence and in the absence of thiol compounds. Gel-filtration studies on Sephadex G-200 indicate an Mr of 107 000, suggesting that the native enzyme is a homodimer with no interchain disulphide bonds. Ultracentrifugation studies give a sedimentation coefficient of 3.5S, implying that the enzyme sediments as the monomer. The isoelectric point, in the presence of 8 M-urea, is 4.2, and some microheterogeneity is detectable. The amino acid composition is comparable with previous analyses of this enzyme from bovine liver and of other preparations of thiol:protein disulphide oxidoreductases whose relation to protein disulphide-isomerase has been controversial. The enzyme contains a very high proportion of Glx + Asx residues (27%). The N-terminal residue is His. The pure enzyme has a very small carbohydrate content, determined as 0.5-1.0% by the phenol/H2SO4 assay. Unless specific steps are taken to remove it, the purified enzyme contains a small amount (5 mol/mol of enzyme) of Triton X-100 carried through the purification.


1993 ◽  
Vol 123 (4) ◽  
pp. 771-783 ◽  
Author(s):  
M P Rout ◽  
G Blobel

Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) have been isolated from the yeast Saccharomyces. Negative stain electron microscopy of the isolated NPCs and subsequent image reconstruction revealed the octagonal symmetry and many of the ultrastructural features characteristic of vertebrate NPCs. The overall dimensions of the yeast NPC, both in its isolated form as well as in situ, are smaller than its vertebrate counterpart. However, the diameter of the central structures are similar. The isolated yeast NPC has a sedimentation coefficient of approximately 310 S and an M(r) of approximately 66 MD. It retains all but one of the eight known NPC proteins. In addition it contains as many as 80 uncharacterized proteins that are candidate NPC proteins.


1972 ◽  
Vol 126 (2) ◽  
pp. 361-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. A. Cammack ◽  
D. I. Marlborough ◽  
D. S. Miller

1. l-Asparaginases from Erwinia carotovora and Escherichia coli (EC2 enzyme) are both capable of inhibiting and eliminating certain types of tumour cells. The Er. carotovora enzyme is a more basic protein, however, and in contrast with the EC2 enzyme it contains neither tryptophan nor cystine, and disulphide bonds are therefore absent. The molecule is very stable in solution from pH3.0 to about pH12.0, and is somewhat more stable at alkaline pH than is the Esch. coli enzyme. Calculations based on a s020,w 7.43S and a sedimentation-equilibrium molecular weight of 135000±10000 give a frictional ratio (f/f0) of 1.08. The molecular conformation is therefore very compact in solution, and the electron microscope shows the negatively stained molecules as almost spherical particles with a diameter of 7.2±0.7nm. 2. Sedimentation-velocity and equilibrium ultracentrifugation, in 5–8m solutions of urea and guanidinium chloride, and also electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulphate–polyacrylamide gel, reveal a dissociation of the native protein molecule into four subunits of similar molecular weight in the range 32500–38000. The enzymically inactive subunits can be physically reassembled into an active tetramer when urea is removed by dialysis. Although the subunit structures of the Er. carotovora enzyme and the Esch. coli enzyme molecules are similar, the secondary bonding forces holding the subunits together in the tetramer are somewhat stronger in the Er. carotovora enzyme. 3. The optical-rotatory-dispersion (o.r.d.) parameters that characterize the Cotton effects arising from ordered structure in the molecule are [m′]233=−3522±74° and [m′]200=9096±1700°. These show very marked changes as the secondary structure is disrupted and the molecule dissociates into subunits. A correlation pathway was traced on the basis of o.r.d. parameters and enzyme activity as the polypeptide chains were denatured and renatured (and reconstituted) into active molecules after the dilution of solutions in urea. Subunits resulting from treatment with sodium dodecyl sulphate do not show the typically disordered o.r.d. profile, but nevertheless they are inactive.


1978 ◽  
Vol 173 (3) ◽  
pp. 759-765 ◽  
Author(s):  
J A Sharp ◽  
M R Edwards

CoA-transferase (succinyl-CoA-3-oxo acid CoA-transferase, EC 2.8.3.5) isolated from sheep kidney was purified to homogeneity. The purified enzyme has a specific activity of approx. 200 units/mg. A mol.wt. of 110000 was obtained by gel filtration on Sephadex G-200, and a lower mol.wt. of 102000 was determined by analytical ultracentrifugation. A sedimentation coefficient of 5.6S was also determined. A subunit mol.wt. of 56000 was obtained by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. Isoelectric focusing of sheep kidney extracts indicated the presence of a single band of CoA-transferase activity with pI9.0. However, isoelectric focusing of purified CoA-transferase showed the presence of two peaks of CoA-transferase activity with pI values of 8.7 and 8.4, suggesting the presence of proteolytic activity during purification. Evidence for sheep kidney CoA-transferase being a dimer of two identical subunits has been obtained from sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, the amino acid composition, peptide ‘mapping’ and N-terminal analysis.


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