Hormone regulated enzyme activities of plasma membrane of decidual endometrium of the rat.

Plasma membranes were purified from deciduoma of pseudopregnant rats and rat liver. Preparations contained 80% plasma membrane-derived material as based on electron microscope morphometry and analysis of enzyme markers. Several plasma membrane enzymes were tested for direct response to hormones. NADH-ferricyanide reductase of plasma membranes from both tissues was stimulated by glucagon and inhibited by insulin but was unresponsive to steroids. For steroids, responsiveness was limited to a reduction in NaF-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity by the steroid R5020. Thus, interaction of steroid hormones with plasma membranes, unlike that of glucagon and insulin, is not reflected in an altered activity of plasma membrane-bound dehydrogenases but may be exerted directly on adenylate cyclase.

Steroid interactions with plasma membrane of decidual endometrium of the rat.

Plasma membranes were purified from deciduoma of pseudopregnant rats, rat liver and intestine, and calf uterus. Steroid binding evaluated with deciduoma plasma membranes showed competitive progestin binding, in contrast with estradiol binding which was nondisplaceable as measured by competition binding assay. When the photosensitive steroid [3H]-R5020 was photocrosslinked to plasma membrane, binding was reduced competitively by either progesterone or R5020. These results indicate that the decidual cell plasma membrane contains specific sites for interactions with progestins.

Identification of dictyosomelike structures (DLS) isolated from spermatocyte-enriched fractions of guinea pig testes.

Dictyosomelike structures (DLS) are organelles unique to male mammalian germ cells and occur in large numbers in spermatocytes of the guinea pig. Selective staining of DLS with phosphotungstic acid at low pH was used to identify DLS in cell fractions prepared by combined sucrose gradient and differential centrifugation procedures. This staining property was retained in homogenates and permitted DLS to be distinguished from cisternae of Golgi apparatus and most other spermatocyte membranes. DLS were resistant to the homogenization and isolation stresses, at least in regard to their structural integrity. The purity of the DLS fractions was proportional to the purity of spermatocytes derived in the initial cell separation steps. Cell separation and the attainment of good spermatocyte fractions appear critical to the isolation of DLS by these procedures.

Calcium uptake by sarcoplasmic reticulum of rat muscle: inhibition by DDT.

Sarcoplasmic reticulum fragments capable of accumulating calcium were isolated from rat skeletal muscle by differential and sucrose gradient centrifugation. The ability of these fragments to accumulate calcium was impaired by adding 2,2-bis-(p-chlorophenyl)-1,1,1-trichloroethane (DDT) to the assay medium at concentrations of 0.06 to 6 muM. DDT (6 muM) caused a sharp lag in calcium uptake, with an 82% reduction in reaction rate 30 sec after calcium was added and a 62% reduction after one min. Basal ATPase activity of the microsomal fraction was inhibited by DDT but the calcium-stimulated increment of ATP hydrolysis was not. The findings show that DDT hinders calcium uptake by sarcoplasmic reticulum, but by some means other than inhibition of the calcium-stimulated ATPase. An apparent antagonism between DDT and ouabain or oligomycin was indicated. We propose that the presence of the lipid-soluble DDT molecule within the membrane of the sarcoplasmic reticulum interferes with the normal rapid uptake of calcium ions required for muscle relaxation, and that this interference may contribute to loss of muscle control in organisms poisoned by DDT.

Observations on the origins of plasma membrane in rat deciduoma.

An NADH-ferricyanide reductase activity resistant to inactivation by cytochemical procedures was examined during decidualization of rat endometrium. Resistant activity was restricted to plasma membranes, distal elements of the Golgi apparatus, and discoid cisternae and cytoplasmic vesicles of decidual cells of endometrium of the pseudopregnant rat on days 3, 4, 5, 7, and 9, after mating. The procedure reduced or eliminated any evidence of NADH-ferricyanide reductase activity from other cellular components such as endoplasmic reticulum, nuclei, and mitochondria. The observations of the glutaraldehyde-resistant reductase in both plasma membranes and discoid cisternae may indicate a role for the latter in the biosynthesis of plasm membranes during decidualization when massive cell proliferation and membrane biosynthesis occur. The origin of the discoid cisternae is tentatively ascribed to the mature faces of the Golgi apparatus.

Nature of the phosphotungstic acid-chromic acid (PACP) stain for plasma membranes of plants and mammalian sperm.

The selective staining of plasma membranes of plants and porcine spermatozoa given by a mixture consisting of 1% phosphotungstic acid in 10% chromic acid (PACP) applied following periodic acid destaining of glutaraldehyde-osmium tetroxide-fixed electron microscope sections is reduced or eliminated by prior extraction of the tissues with lipid solvents, including ethanol. The ethanol-soluble fraction of sperm contains constituents which restore the PACP-staining reaction when added to ethanol-extracted and lyophilized sperm. Analysis of the ethanol extracts by thin layer chromatography revealed two major components which reacted with both phosphotungstic acid (PTA) and alpha-naphthol detection reagents. These PTA-positive constituents were concentrated in plasma membranes of sperm; components with similar mobilities were found in fractions of plasma membranes from plants. Addition of the PTA-positive constituents from either sperm or plants to extracted and lyophilized sperm restored the PACP staining. The findings are interpreted to mean that one or more low molecular weight constituents (saccharides or glycolipids), rather than glycoproteins, concentrated in plaslma membranes are responsible for the unique PACP staining in both plants and porcine sperm.

Distribution of adenylate cyclase among membrane fractions of rat liver.

Adenylate cyclase activity was detected in plasma membranes, Golgi apparatus, and endoplasmic reticulum from rat liver. Adenylate cyclase activities of purified membranes were determined biochemically by two methods. In one, the synthesis of radioactive cyclic AMP from ATalpha32P was monitored. In the other, the synthesis of cyclic AMP was quantitiated using a protein which specifically binds cyclic AMP. The enzyme activity was responsive to activation by both glucagon and sodium fluoride although differences in degree of activation were noted comparing plasma membrane, Golgi apparatus, and endoplasmic reticulum. Cytochemical studies, using both whole tissue and purified cell fractions and conducted in parallel, confirmed the biochemical results. Deposition of lead phosphate, enhanced by glucagon and NaF with samples incubated with appropriate substrates, was not restricted to plasma membranes of hepatocytes but was present in intracellular membranes as well. Adenylate cyclase of rat hepatocytes appears more widely distributed among internal membranes than previously recognized.

Adenylate cyclase activity not found in soybean hypocotyl and onion meristem.

Tissue, homogenates, and purified cell fractions prepared from hypocotyls of a dicot, soybean (Glycine max), and meristematic tissue of a monocot, onion (Allium cepa), were examined critically for evidence of adenylate cyclase activity. Three assay methods were used: chemical analysis, isotope dilution analysis, and enzyme cytochemistry. In both crude extracts or whole tissue, as well as purified membranes, with or without auxin, no adenylate cyclase was detected by any of the three methods.For plasma membranes, the specific activity was less than 1/40 or 1/25,000 that of rat liver plasma membranes, depending on the assay procedure, i.e. below the limits of detection. Using comparable methods, we could detect neither cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate nor the phosphodiesterase responsible for its degradation in either purified membranes or homogenates. The results suggest that hormone responses in plants are not generally mediated by a mechanism involving the obligate production of cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate by a plasma membrane associated adenylate cyclase.

Isolation of a Golgi apparatus-rich fraction from rat liver. II. Enzymatic characterization and comparison with other cell fractions.

Enzymatic activities associated with Golgi apparatus-, endoplasmic reticulum-, plasma membrane-, mitochondria-, and microbody-rich cell fractions isolated from rat liver were determined and used as a basis for estimating fraction purity. Succinic dehydrogenase and cytochrome oxidase (mitochondria) activities were low in the Golgi apparatus-rich fraction. On the basis of glucose-6-phosphatase (endoplasmic reticulum) and 5'-nucleotidase (plasma membrane) activities, the Golgi apparatus-rich fraction obtained directly from sucrose gradients was estimated to contain no more than 10% endoplasmic reticulum- and 11% plasma membrane-derived material. Total protein contribution of endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, plasma membrane, microbodies (uric acid oxidase), and lysosomes (acid phosphatase) to the Golgi apparatus-rich fraction was estimated to be no more than 20-30% and decreased to less than 10% with further washing. The results show that purified Golgi apparatus fractions isolated routinely may exceed 80% Golgi apparatus-derived material. Nucleoside di- and triphosphatase activities were enriched 2-3-fold in the Golgi apparatus fraction relative to the total homogenate, and of a total of more than 25 enzyme-substrate combinations reported, only thiamine pyrophosphatase showed a significantly greater enrichment.

Biochemical and morphological comparison of plasma membrane and milk fat globule membrane from bovine mammary gland.

Purified plasma membrane fractions from lactating bovine mammary glands and membranes of milk fat globules from the same source were similar in distribution and fatty acid composition of phospholipids. The sphingomyelin content of the phospholipid fraction of both membranes was higher than in these fractions from other cell components, beta-carotene, a constituent characteristic of milk fat, was present in the lipid fraction of the plasma membrane. Cholesterol esters of plasma membrane were similar in fatty acid composition to those of milk fat globule membranes. Disc electrophoresis of either membrane preparation on polyacrylamide gels revealed a single major protein component characteristic of plasma membrane from other sources. Distinct morphological differences between plasma membrane and milk fat globule membranes were observed in both thin sections and in negatively stained material. Plasma membrane was vesicular in appearance while milk fat globule membranes had a platelike aspect. These observations are consistent with derivation of fat globule membrane from plasma membrane accompanied by structural rearrangement of membrane constituents.