scholarly journals LOCALIZATION OF THE ENZYMES OF KETOGENESIS IN RAT LIVER MITOCHONDRIA

1973 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 284-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. John Chapman ◽  
Leonard R. Miller ◽  
Joseph A. Ontko

The localization of the enzymes of ketogenesis in isolated rat liver mitochondria has been investigated. Mitochondrial subfractions were isolated after disruption of this subcellular organelle by (a) hypotonic lysis in water, which permitted the ultracentrifugal separation of the soluble and membranous compartments of the mitochondrion, or by (b) a procedure involving swelling, contraction, and ultrasonic treatment, which permitted the isolation from discontinuous sucrose gradients of subfractions rich in intermembrane space protein, outer membrane, and inner membrane-matrix particles. Two membrane subfractions were invariably present as distinct bands at the lower interface of the discontinuous gradient. The upper of these two bands was found to be a highly purified preparation of outer mitochondrial membrane. Subfractions rich in matrix and in inner membrane were isolated from inner membrane-matrix particles after hypotonic treatment. The content of the various mitochondrial compartments in all subfractions was assessed from their enzymic and electron microscopic characteristics. The ketogenic activity of each subfraction was determined by measuring its capacity to form ketone bodies from acetyl CoA. The activity of this process was markedly enhanced by dithiothreitol. These measurements of ketone body formation, together with assays of individual enzymes of the ketogenic pathway, show that thiolase, HMGCoA synthase, and HMGCoA cleavage enzyme are localized in the matrix of the inner membrane-matrix particles. The rates of ketone body formation indicate that the HMGCoA synthase is the rate-limiting enzyme of the pathway in subfractions of high matrix content. Studies with sodium chloride indicate that a large portion of the HMGCoA synthase, which remains present in membrane subfractions derived from water-treated mitochondria, is bound by ionic interaction to component(s) of the membrane.

1986 ◽  
Vol 233 (1) ◽  
pp. 283-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
M C Duque-Magalhães ◽  
P Régnier

Rat liver mitochondrial fractions corresponding to four morphological structures (matrix, inner membrane, intermembrane space and outer membrane) contain proteinases that cleave casein components at different rates. Proteinases of the intermembrane space preferentially cleave kappa-casein, whereas the proteinases of the outer membrane, inner membrane and matrix fractions degrade alpha S1-casein more rapidly. Electrophoretic separation of the degradation products of alpha S1-casein and kappa-casein in polyacrylamide gels shows that different polypeptides are produced when the substrate is degraded by the matrix, by both membranes and by the intermembrane-space fraction. Some of the degradation products resulting from incubation of the caseins with the mitochondrial fractions are probably the result of digestion by contaminating lysosomal proteinase(s). The matrix has a high peptidase activity, since glucagon, a small peptide, is very rapidly degraded by this fraction. These observations strongly suggest that distinct proteinases, with different specificities, are associated respectively with the intermembrane space and with both membrane fractions.


1998 ◽  
Vol 4 (S2) ◽  
pp. 430-431
Author(s):  
C.A. Mannella ◽  
K. Buttle ◽  
K. Tessitore ◽  
B.K. Rath ◽  
C. Hsieh ◽  
...  

Electron microscopic tomography is proving to be a valuable tool for investigating the 3D structure and organization of cellular organelles. Important progress is being made in the application of the technique to frozen-hydrated material, but it is likely that success with thick specimens will be limited by the low contrast and beam sensitivity of naked biological material. Thus, optimizing procedures for fixing, embedding, staining, and selectively labelling cells for 3D electron microscopy remains a priority.Tomography of chemically fixed and plastic-embedded rat-liver tissue and isolated mitochondria has shown that the cristae (the invaginations of the mitochondrial inner membrane) are pleiomorphic and connected to each other and to the surface of the inner membrane by tubular regions 30-40 nm in diameter. This basic design feature has important implications for the microcompartmentation of ions and molecules within this organelle.


1968 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 158-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl Schnaitman ◽  
John W. Greenawalt

Treatment of rat liver mitochondria with digitonin followed by differential centrifugation was used to resolve the intramitochondrial localization of both soluble and particulate enzymes. Rat liver mitochondria were separated into three fractions: inner membrane plus matrix, outer membrane, and a soluble fraction containing enzymes localized between the membranes plus some solublized outer membrane. Monoamine oxidase, kynurenine hydroxylase, and rotenone-insensitive NADH-cytochrome c reductase were found primarily in the outer membrane fraction. Succinate-cytochrome c reductase, succinate dehydrogenase, cytochrome oxidase, ß-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, lipoamide dehydrogenase, NAD- and NADH-isocitrate dehydrogenase, glutamate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase, and ornithine transcarbamoylase were found in the inner membrane-matrix fraction. Nucleoside diphosphokinase was found in both the outer membrane and soluble fractions; this suggests a dual localization. Adenylate kinase was found entirely in the soluble fraction and was released at a lower digitonin concentration than was the outer membrane; this suggests that this enzyme is localized between the two membranes. The inner membrane-matrix fraction was separated into inner membrane and matrix by treatment with the nonionic detergent Lubrol, and this separation was used as a basis for calculating the relative protein content of the mitochondrial components. The inner membrane-matrix fraction retained a high degree of morphological and biochemical integrity and exhibited a high respiratory rate and respiratory control when assayed in a sucrose-mannitol medium containing EDTA.


1975 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 155-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthijs Lopes-Cardozo ◽  
Ids Mulder ◽  
Frits van Vugt ◽  
Paul G. C. Hermans ◽  
Simon G. van den Bergh ◽  
...  

1972 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leo P. K. Lee ◽  
Irving B. Fritz

Factors controlling the rates of ketogenesis by intact rat liver mitochondria have been investigated. High rates of ketone body formation were obtained with (−)-palmitoylcarnitine (20–120 μM) as substrate, but much lower rates were observed when pyruvate (0.33–1.66 mM) or (−)-acetylcarnitine (0.33–1.00 mM) was substrate. Concentrations of CoA-SH, acetyl-CoA, and long-chain acyl-CoA have been determined in mitochondria incubated with each of these substrates in the absence of metabolic inhibitors. In general, rates of ketogenesis increased as CoA-SH levels fell. Although acetyl-CoA concentrations increased in mitochondria incubated in the presence of low concentrations of (−)-palmitoylcarnitine (below 40 μM), they decreased when higher concentrations of (−)-palmitoylcarnitine were employed. This lowering of acetyl-CoA levels occurred concomitantly with an increase in concentrations of long-chain acyl-CoA and a decrease in CoA-SH levels.In soluble mitochondrial fractions obtained after sonication, CoA-SH addition inhibited acetoacetate formation. The ratio of [acetyl-CoA]/[CoA-SH] and the concentrations of CoA-SH were shown to be of greater importance in the regulation of ketogenesis than was the concentration of acetyl-CoA. Additional factors controlling rates of ketogenesis are discussed in relation to data presented. For example, the [acetyl-CoA]/[CoA-SH] ratio was considerably elevated when pyruvate or (−)-acetylcarnitine was substrate, but at such ratios the rates of ketogenesis were far lower than when (−)-palmitoylcarnitine was the substrate. It was calculated that the "apparent Km" of acetoacetyl-CoA for ketone body formation in intact rat liver mitochondria was approximately 10−9 M when (−)-palmitoylcarnitine was the substrate but it was significantly higher when (−)-acetylcarnitine and pyruvate were substrates.


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