scholarly journals Ultrastructural localization of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphatase (NADPase) activity to the intermediate saccules of the Golgi apparatus in rat incisor ameloblasts.

1980 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
C E Smith

Cytochemical evidence for the existence of a Golgi-associated phosphatase activity that hydrolyzes nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP) at acid pH in rat incisor ameloblasts was obtained by incubating sections from glutaraldehyde-fixed teeth in a medium containing NADP as substrate and lead ions as capture agent. Following incubation for 1 hr at 37 degrees C and pH 5.0, the Golgi saccules situated between those at the cis (immature) and trans (mature) faces of the ameloblast Golgi apparatus were marked by reaction product with the heaviest deposit in the middle saccule. Reaction product was otherwise seen in trace amounts only over some elements of the GERL system as well as a few lysosomal dense bodies and immature secretory granules. Control experiments established that the selective staining of intermediate Golgi saccules at pH 5.0 could only be duplicated by using substrates that resembled the complete NADP molecule, and not just the portion containing the adenosine 2'-monophosphate group. As well, no deposits of reaction product were seen within the Golgi saccules of ameloblasts incubated at pH 5.0 with nictoinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) as the substrate or that were incubated at pH 7.2 or pH 9.0 with NADP as the substrate. It was concluded that a specific, acid-NADPase activity is present in the intermediate Golgi saccules of secretory ameloblasts. Preliminary observations on other cells suggest that the localization of NADPase activity to Golgi saccules may constitute a general phenomenon.

1981 ◽  
Vol 29 (11) ◽  
pp. 1243-1254 ◽  
Author(s):  
C E Smith

Enzymatic hydrolysis of the monoester phosphate group from coenzyme A (CoA) was studied in rat incisor ameloblasts by incubating specimens from glutaraldehyde-fixed teeth in a cytochemical medium prepared with acetyl-CoA as substrate and lead ions as capture agent for phosphate. Ameloblasts incubated for 1 hr at 37 degrees C and at pH 5.0 in this medium showed reaction product localized almost exclusively along the trans (mature) aspect of the Golgi apparatus within a network of small granules and interconnecting tubular channels that comprise the GERL system in this cell. Reaction product was otherwise seen in trace amounts only within some Golgi saccules, a few lysosomal dense bodies and, in rare instances, within an occasional focal area of the endoplasmic reticulum. No selective staining of the GERL system was seen in control ameloblasts incubated at either pH 7.2 or pH 9.0 with acetyl-CoA as substrate, or incubated at pH 5.0 with dephospho-CoA as substrate. Control experiments at pH 5.0 also revealed that reaction product selectively stained the GERL system in ameloblasts when other molecules resembling CoA were used as substrate (e.g., crotonyl-CoA, 3'-NADP+), but not when adenosine 3'-monophosphate (3'-AMP) was used as substrate. That is, ameloblasts incubated at pH 5.0 with 3'-AMP showed heavy deposits of reaction product at many sites throughout the cell, including most lysosomal dense bodies, the Golgi saccules, the GERL system, most secretory granules, the nucleus, and extensively throughout the endoplasmic reticulum. These findings suggest that the GERL system of ameloblasts contains a CoA-specific phosphatase activity that may function to convert CoA to dephospho-CoA at acid pH. Biochemical studies included with this investigation further indicate that CoA-Pase activity saturates at exceptionally low concentrations of substrate (KM = 30 microM CoA) compared to other acid-dependent phosphatases.


Author(s):  
M. Arif Hayat

Although it is recognized that niacin (pyridine-3-carboxylic acid), incorporated as the amide in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) or in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP), is a cofactor in hydrogen transfer in numerous enzyme reactions in all organisms studied, virtually no information is available on the effect of this vitamin on a cell at the submicroscopic level. Since mitochondria act as sites for many hydrogen transfer processes, the possible response of mitochondria to niacin treatment is, therefore, of critical interest.Onion bulbs were placed on vials filled with double distilled water in the dark at 25°C. After two days the bulbs and newly developed root system were transferred to vials containing 0.1% niacin. Root tips were collected at ¼, ½, 1, 2, 4, and 8 hr. intervals after treatment. The tissues were fixed in glutaraldehyde-OsO4 as well as in 2% KMnO4 according to standard procedures. In both cases, the tissues were dehydrated in an acetone series and embedded in Reynolds' lead citrate for 3-10 minutes.


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