Determination of Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase Activity in Subregions of Rat Brain by High Pressure Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

A quantitative high pressure liquid chromato-graphic (HPLC) assay has been developed for the determination of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) activity in subregions of rat brain. GAD activity was determined indirectly by measurement of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Fluorimetric detection was made possible by derivatization with ortho-phthalaldehyde and the limit of detection was 11 ng GABA.     

高效液相色谱法测定鼠脑谷氨酸脱羧酶活性

应用高效液相色谱-电化学检测技术建立了鼠脑谷氨酸脱羧酶(GAD)活性的测定方法.方法快速,灵敏.总分析时间为9min.γ-氨基丁酸的最低柱上检测限为50fmol.天内及天间相对标准差分别小于4.3%和9.8%.测得CAD最大催化速率为0.723nmol/min/mg蛋白.讨论了最佳衍生化pH及色谱条件.     

Fluorimetric Assay for the Determination of Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase Activity in Subregions of Rat Brain Tissue

Abstract

A modification of the spectrofluorimetric method of Lowe et al ¹ for the measurement of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) activity in rat brain is described. This method involves the indirect determination of GAD activity by measurement of the formation of gamma-amino-butyric acid (GABA). The minimum activity of GAD observable was 0.45 μg GABA/hour/mg protein and the limit of detection was 0.20 × 10^?6 M GABA. This method was developed for measurement of GAD activity of gabaergic terminals in globus pallidus, endopeduncular nucleus, substantia nigra, and ventromedial thalamus in rat brain.     

Endogenous synthesis of taurine and GABA in rat ocular tissues

The endogenous production of taurine and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in rat ocular tissues was investigated. The activities of taurine-producing enzyme, cysteine sulfinic acid decarboxylase (CSAD), and GABA-synthesizing enzyme, glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), were observed in the retina, lens, iris-ciliary body and cornea. The highest specific activity of CSAD was in the cornea and that of GAD in the retina. The discrepancy between CSAD activity and taurine content within the ocular tissues indicates that intra- or extraocular transport processes may regulate the concentration of taurine in the rat eye. The GAD activity and the content of GABA were distributed in parallel within the rat ocular tissues. The quantitative results suggest that the GAD/GABA system has functional significance only in the retina of the rat eye.     

An HPLC assay for rat liver ferrochelatase activity

A rapid, reliable, sensitive and reproducible HPLC method was developed for the assay of ferrochelatase activity in rat liver. The assay was carried out aerobically with Zn2+ and mesoporphyrin or protoporphyrin IX as substrates. Zn-porphyrins formed were extracted with dimethyl sulphoxide/methanol (30:70, v/v) containing Zn-deuteroporphyrin as the internal standard for separation and quantification by reversed-phase chromatography. The Km for mesoporphyrin was 5.9 microM, for protoporphyrin IX 8.8 microM and for zinc 6.0 microM. The specific activities were 33.1 +/- 5.0 nmol Zn-mesoporphyrin or 13.4 +/- 2.0 nmol Zn-protoporphyrin formed per hour per mg of protein for mitochondria and 12.3 +/- 2.2 nmol Zn-mesoporphyrin or 4.6 +/- 0.9 nmol Zn-protoporphyrin per hour per mg of protein for liver homogenate.     

Fluorimetric determination of hepatic delta-aminolevulinic acid synthase activity by high-performance liquid chromatography

A fluorimetric method for measuring the activity of delta-aminolevulinic acid synthase (ALAS) in the liver of mice has been developed. The liver homogenate was used as the enzyme source. The final concentration of glycine (substrate) used for the assay was 100 mM. The delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) formed during incubation was converted into a highly fluorescent derivative by condensation with acetylactone and formaldehyde (application of the Hantzsch reaction). This derivative was completely separated from other fluorescent substances in the reaction medium, and it was determined using a high-performance liquid chromatograph equipped with a fluorescence monitor (370/460 nm). The activity of ALAS was expressed as nmol ALA formed per gram liver per hour.     

Highly sensitive assay for gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase activity by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection

A highly sensitive assay for gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase activity involving high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with electrochemical detection was devised. gamma-Glutamyl-DOPA, a new synthetic dipeptide, which consists of naturally occurring amino acids, was found to be a good substrate for gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase purified from Proteus mirabilis. Enzymatically formed DOPA was adsorbed on an aluminium oxide column, eluted with 0.5 M hydrochloric acid and determined by HPLC with electrochemical detection. The sensitivity limit of this method was 0.5 pmol of DOPA formed. Some properties of gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase purified from P. mirabilis were investigated using gamma-glutamyl-DOPA as a substrate. In the presence of 0.15 M glycylglycine, the KM value of the enzyme for gamma-glutamyl-DOPA was 0.013 mM, and the maximum velocity was 247 nmol/min per mg protein. This method was applied to the assay of the enzymatic activity in human serum.     

Development and validation of a microsomal online cytochrome P450 bioreactor coupled to solid-phase extraction and reversed-phase liquid chromatography

The development and validation of an online cytochrome P450 (CYP)-based bioreactor coupled to automated solid-phase extraction (SPE) and gradient HPLC separation is described. The analytical method was checked on intra- and inter-day repeatability of the ethoxyresorufin-O-demethylation (EROD) reaction with CYP 1Al/1A2 containing beta-NF induced rat liver microsomes as an enzyme source. These experiments showed that CYP activity was linearly decreased with 16% over an 11 h period. Inter-day measurements had a CV of 9.1%. Furthermore, Km and Vmax values of the EROD reaction, measured with the bioreactor, were 2.72 +/- 0.46 microM and 7.9 +/- 0.5 nmol/min/mg protein, respectively. These were in good correspondence with Km and Vmax values, measured with standard batch assay, which amounted 0.66 +/- 0.08 microM and 6.4 +/- 0.2 nmol/min/mg protein respectively. In conclusion the newly developed analytical method can be used effectively and at a microliter scale for online generation, extraction and separation of metabolites.     

Determination of ornithine conjugates of some carboxylic acids in birds by high-performance liquid chromatography.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for the determination of ornithine conjugation of some carboxylic acids in vitro has been developed. The ornithine conjugates of benzoic acid, p-nitrobenzoic acid, furancarboxylic acid and phenylacetic acid in an incubation mixture with kidney mitochondria were well separated on a reversed-phase C18 column using a mixture of 10 mM ammonium acetate buffer and methanol as the mobile phase. In addition, by varying the pH of the mobile phase and utilizing the absorption wavelengths (nm) of the conjugates it was possible to resolve and specifically detect each conjugate. The calibration curves were linear in the range of 0.2-16 micrograms/ml for all compounds and the detection limits were about 50 ng/ml except for the ornithine conjugate of phenyl acetic acid (S/N = 2). The ornithine conjugation of some carboxylic acids with chicken kidney mitochondria were determined by this assay method. The activity of ornithine conjugation of benzoic acid, furancarboxylic acid, p-nitrobenzoic acid and phenylacetic acid were 14.5, 5.5, 0.5 and 6.9 nmol/mg of protein, respectively. Moreover, the ornithine conjugation and the glycine conjugation of benzoic acid were examined in birds and rodents. The ornithine conjugation was observed only in chicken (14.5 nmol/mg of protein) and mallard (0.99 nmol/mg of protein).     

Fluorescence determination of N-acetylaspartic acid in the rat cerebrum homogenate using high-performance liquid chromatography with pre-column fluorescence derivatization

N-acetyl-L-aspartic acid (NAA) is an endogenous compound, and its brain concentration is suggested to be altered in neurological disorders. In the present study, a fluorescence determination method for NAA was developed by employing reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with pre-column fluorescence derivatization using 4-N,N-dimethylaminosulfonyl-7-N-(2-aminoethyl)amino-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (DBD-ED). Using methylsuccinic acid as the internal standard, a linear calibration curve for NAA was constructed in the range 125-1000 microM (n=3). The detection limit on the column was approximately 5.0 fmol (signal-to-noise ratio 3). The proposed HPLC method was applied to determine NAA in the rat cerebrum homogenate. Cerebrum NAA was successfully determined using 10 microL of the homogenate, and the validation data for the proposed HPLC method demonstrated satisfactory results. Intra- and inter-day precision and accuracy were within 1.1-7.0 and -8.1-6.3%, respectively. The concentration of NAA in the male rat cerebrum (13 weeks old) was 84+/-4.6 micromol/mg protein (n=3).     

Use of reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography for simultaneous determination of glutamine synthetase and glutamic acid decarboxylase in crude extracts

Glutamine and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), formed from glutamic acid in crude tissue extracts by glutamine synthetase and glutamic acid decarboxylase respectively, were separated by derivatization with dansyl chloride followed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography on the Altex Ultrasphere ODS-5 column. The mobile phase was a gradient of 100 mM potassium dihydrogen phosphate (pH 2.1) with 0-40% acetonitrile. The amounts of glutamine and GABA formed from glutamic acid were determined under different reaction conditions.     

Boric acid inhibits adenosine diphosphate-ribosyl cyclase non-competitively

Adenosine diphosphate-ribosyl cyclase (ADP-ribosyl cyclase) is a ubiquitous enzyme in eukaryotes that converts NAD+ to cyclic-ADP-ribose (cADPR) and nicotinamide. A quantitative assay for cADPR was developed using capillary electrophoresis to separate NAD+, cADPR, ADP-ribose, and ADP with UV detection (254 nm). Using this assay, the apparent Km and Vmax for Aplysia ADP-ribosyl cyclase were determined to be 1.24+/-0.05 mM and 131.8+/-2.0 microM/min, respectively. Boric acid inhibited ADP-ribosyl cyclase non-competitively with a Ki of 40.5+/-0.5 mM. Boric acid binding to cADPR, determined by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, was characterized by an apparent binding constant, KA, of 655+/-99 L/mol at pH 10.3.     

Kinetic study of cytochrome P450 3A4 activity on warfarin by capillary electrophoresis with fluorescence detection

The use of capillary electrophoresis (CE) for the determination of cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) activity with R-warfarin as a substrate was investigated. CYP3A4 activity was determined by the quantitation of the product, 10-hydroxywarfarin, based on separation by CE. The separation conditions were as follows: capillary, 80.5 cm (75 microm i.d., 60 cm effective length); 50 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 6.5); 23 kV (90 microA) applied voltage; fluorescence detection, excitation wavelength, 310 nm, emission wavelength, 418 nm; capillary temperature, 37 degrees C. With the developed CYP3A4 activity assay and the Lineweaver-Burk equation, the Michaelis-Menten parameters Km and Vmax for formation of 10-hydroxywarfarin from R-warfarin in the presence of CYP3A4 were calculated to be 166 +/- 12 microM and 713 +/- 14 pmol/min/nmol (or 91.4 pmol/min/mg) CYP3A4, respectively.     

Molecular packing tunes the activity of Kluyveromyces lactis beta-galactosidase incorporated in Langmuir-Blodgett films

Functional consequences of constraining beta-Gal in bidimensional space were studied at defined molecular packing densities and constant topology. Langmuir-Blodgett films, LB15 and LB35 composed of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine and K. lactis beta-Gal, were obtained by transferring Langmuir films (L) initially packed at 15 and 35 mN/m, respectively, to alkylated glasses. The beta-Gal-monolayer binding equilibrium, mainly the adsorption rate and affinity, depended on the initial monolayer's surface pressure (lower for higher pi i). At pi i = 15 and 35 mN/m, the surface excess (Gamma) followed downward parabolic and power-law tendencies, respectively, as a function of subphase protein concentration. Gamma values in L roughly reflected the protein surface density chemically determined in LBs (0-7.5 ng/mm2 at pi i = 0-35 mN/m and [beta-Gal] subphase = 0-100 microg/mL). The beta-Gal-catalyzed hydrolysis of o-nitrophenyl-galactopyranoside showed a Michaelian kinetics in solution as well as in LB15. KM, KM,LB15, Vmax, and Vmax,LB15 were 5.15 +/- 2.2 and 9.25 +/- 6 mM and 39.63 and 0.0096 +/- 0.0027 micromol/min/mg protein, respectively. The sigmoidal kinetics observed with LB35 was evaluated by Hill's model (K0.5 = 9.55 +/- 0.4 mM, Vmax,35 = 0.0021 micromol/min/mg protein, Hill coefficient n = 9) and Savageau's fractal model (fractal constant K f = 9.84 mM; reaction order for the substrate gs = 9.06 and for the enzyme ge = 0.62). Fractal reaction orders would reflect the fractal organization of the environment, demonstrated by AFM images, more than the molecularity of the reaction. Particular dynamics of the protein-lipid structural coupling in each molecular packing condition would have led to the different kinetic responses.     

Rapid method for the assay of 4-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutamic acid and aspartic acid in brain tissue and subcellular fractions

The thin-layer electrophoretic separation at pH 4.8 of brain extracts and a procedure for fluorescent staining of the plates with fluorescamine are described for the rapid routine determination of 4-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutamic acid and aspartic acid in brain extracts and in particulate fractions of brain tissue. Automated sample application, electrophoretic separation using two chambers, and quantitation by in situ fluorescence scanning allows the assay of 280 samples within three working days. The method is reproducible (S.D. less than 8% of the mean) within the range of 0.2--2 nmole per spot. The staining procedure can be applied to a variety of related analytical problems. The method has proved useful for the determination of the specific radioactivities of GABA, glutamic acid and aspartic acid in metabolic studies.     

Highly sensitive assay for tyrosine hydroxylase activity by high-performance liquid chromatography.

A highly sensitive assay for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with amperometric detection was devised based on the rapid isolation of enzymatically formed DOPA by a double-column procedure, the columns fitted together sequentially (the top column of Amberlite CG-50 and the bottom column of aluminium oxide). DOPA was adsorbed on the second aluminium oxide column, then eluted with 0.5 M hydrochloric acid, and assayed by HPLC with amperometric detection. D-Tyrosine was used for the control. alpha-Methyldopa was added to the incubation mixture as an internal standard after incubation. This assay was more sensitive than radioassays and 5 pmol of DOPA formed enzymatically could be measured in the presence of saturating concentrations of tyrosine and 6-methyltetrahydropterin. The TH activity in 2 mg of human putamen could be easily measured, and this method was found to be particularly suitable for the assay of TH activity in a small number of nuclei from animal and human brain.     

High paraoxon-hydrolyzing activity in organophosphorus insecticide-resistant mosquitoes.

We found a strong paraoxon-hydrolyzing activity (23.4 +/- 8.50 nmol/h/individual and 137 +/- 86.2 nmol/h/mg protein) in the crude extract from larvae of Culex tritaeniorhynchus Toyama 89, which is markedly resistant to organophosphorous insecticides. The activity was higher than those from Cx. tritaeniorhynchus re-e-ae (0.175 +/- 0.0336 and 1.83 +/- 0.651), Anopheles omorii (0.112 +/- 0.0301 and 1.86 +/- 0.746) and An. stephensi (0.0651 +/- 0.0713 and 0.789 +/- 0.910), which are susceptible to organophosphorous insecticides. These facts suggest that the high paraoxon-hydrolyzing activity plays a role in the development of organophosphorous resistance in Cx. tritaeniorhynchus. The enzyme preparation obtained from Toyama 89 showed higher activity in the alkaline pH range and its Km values to paraoxon were 0.67 mM in larvae and 0.50 mM in adults. A calcium ion was strictly required for the hydrolysis of paraoxon. Fenitroxon was also hydrolyzed, in addition to paraoxon. However, it did not degradate parathion and fenitrothion at all. Dichlorvos and phenyl acetate competitively inhibited the enzyme. The phenyl acetate-hydrolyzing activity in the preparation of Toyama 89 was significantly (p less than 0.01) lower than those in susceptible strains, and was irreversibly inhibited by paraoxon. Therefore, the paraoxon-hydrolyzing activity belongs to the class of organophosphate compound hydrolases; it must be thus distinguished from bacterial phosphotriesterase.     

Use of an Optimum Wavelength to Detect Glutamic Acid and its Metabolites in Human Serum by Reversed-Phase HPLC

Abstract

Dansylated glutamic acid, glutamine and γ-amino butyric acid (GABA) show maximum absorption at 221 nm. Using this wavelength, the detection limits for dansylated amino acids studied by reversed-phase HPLC are similar to those reported by fluorescence. This technique was used to look foe the presence of glutamic acid and its metabolites in human serum. Glutamic acid and glutamine were present in significant amounts and their levels were 2.5 and 6.1 nmoles/ml respetively, while GABA was present in trace amounts, less than 0.3 nmoles/ml.     

Microassay for GM1 ganglioside beta-galactosidase activity using high-performance liquid chromatography

A simple and sensitive assay for GM1 ganglioside (GM1) beta-galactosidase activity was devised by direct measurement of released D-galactose using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). GM1 beta-galactosidase activity in crude samples such as brain homogenates could be measured by this method. After incubation of brain homogenate for 1 h with GM1 at 37 degrees C and pH 4.4 in the presence of sodium taurodeoxycholate, the reaction was terminated by heating at 100 degrees C for 2 min and the supernatant from the centrifuged sample was analysed directly by HPLC. D-Galactose isolated by HPLC was converted into a fluorescent compound by a post-column reaction with arginine at 150 degrees C and the fluorescence intensity at 430 nm was measured with excitation at 320 nm. By this method 10 pmol of D-galactose could be measured and the fluorescence intensity was linear up to 1 mmol of D-galactose. Using this method, the optimal conditions for the activity of this enzyme were re-examined. As an application, the enzyme activity in the brain of a patient with GM1 gangliosidosis was examined. This method can be applied to any natural substrates, glycolipids or glycoproteins, the terminal galactose of which is hydrolysed by this enzyme.     

Quantitative analysis of 5 alpha-reductase inhibitors in DU145 cells using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

N-(Dicyclohexyl)acetylpiperidine-4-benzylidene-4-carboxylic acid (1) is an excellent in vitro inhibitor of 5 alpha-reductase (5 alpha R). Compound 1 showed, however, much lower inhibition activity of 5 alpha R in vivo than in vitro, which might be caused by poor membrane permeability. The methyl ester of 1 (1a) was therefore tested as a model prodrug to see if it has better permeability properties than the corresponding acid 1. It was also monitored that this methyl ester was cleaved into the active compound 1 within the DU145 cells. Quantitative matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) and high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS/MS) methods were established with reliable linearity factors (0.996 for MALDI-TOFMS and 0.998 for HPLC/MS/MS) and reproducibility (relative standard deviation = 6.5% for MALDI-TOFMS and 2.8% for HPLC/MS/MS). The samples for MS analysis were effectively prepared from the cell homogenates using solid-phase extraction, with a high recovery of 90% on average. The intracellular amount of 1a (1.7 nmol) was much higher than that of 1 (0.032 nmol) in DU145 cells after 6 h of incubation. After incubation with the ester (1a), the cleaved acid (1) was detected within the cells. The concentration of acid 1 (0.045 nmol) in this experiment was higher than the acid content (0.032 nmol) after direct incubation with 1. Surprisingly, high amounts of the cleaved compound 1 were found outside the cells after 6 h of incubation with 1a.