Basic fibroblast growth factor as a biochemical marker of exercise-induced ischemia.

BACKGROUND: Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is a mitogenic polypeptide that demonstrates enhanced expression and promotes angiogenesis in animal models of myocardial ischemia and infarction. Elevated levels of bFGF are present in the urine of humans with metastatic tumors, but its expression in human myocardial ischemia is unknown. Thus, we sought to determine whether urine levels of bFGF are altered by exercise-induced ischemia in humans. METHODS AND RESULTS: Eighty-six patients underwent exercise thallium studies for evaluation of anginal symptoms. Urine levels of bFGF (corrected for urine creatinine) were determined by ELISA immediately before and between 2 and 4 hours after exercise. The change in urine bFGF level was compared between 43 patients with and 43 patients without exercise-induced ischemia. Patients with ischemia had an increase in urine bFGF compared with nonischemic patients (1052 +/- 245 versus -278 +/- 130 pg/g creatinine, P < .0001). Exercise, demographic, and clinical variables were assessed and analyzed for possible effect on bFGF response to exercise. By univariate analysis, a history of hypertension was negatively associated with a change in bFGF level (P < .05). No other variables were associated. By multivariate analysis, only bFGF response (P < .001) and age (P < .05) were independently related to exercise-induced ischemia. CONCLUSIONS: Significantly increased levels of bFGF are detected in the urine within hours of exercise-induced ischemia. Further studies are warranted to determine whether bFGF might serve as a useful circulating marker of myocardial ischemia in humans.

Phosphorylation activates the insulin receptor tyrosine protein kinase.

Preparations of insulin receptor from cultured 3T3-L1 adipocytes and human placenta previously was found to catalyze the phosphorylation of the 90,000-dalton component of the insulin receptor on tyrosine residues. This insulin-dependent phosphorylation has now been shown to coincide with the generation of an activated, insulin-independent, receptor protein kinase. Activation is dependent upon ATP, divalent cations (Mg2+ and Mn2+), and insulin (half-maximal activation occurs at 6-8 nM insulin). The time required for activation is consistent with that needed for insulin-dependent self-phosphorylation of the receptor present in eluates from wheat germ lectin-agarose columns and in preparations of affinity-purified placental receptor. Activation proceeds unabated in the presence of soybean trypsin inhibitor at 0.1 mg/ml and the activated, insulin-independent, protein kinase sediments in 5-20% sucrose gradients at the same position as the unmodified receptor. Under steady-state conditions, the phosphorylated receptor binds insulin in the same fashion as the unmodified receptor. It is proposed that the self-phosphorylated form of the receptor is the insulin-activated protein kinase that catalyzes the phosphorylation of exogenous protein and peptide substrates. A corollary of this hypothesis is that enzymatic dephosphorylation may be essential for reversibly terminating the activity of the insulin-receptor protein kinase.

4-Bromocrotonic acid, an effective inhibitor of fatty acid oxidation and ketone body degradation in rat heart mitochondria. On the rate-determining step of beta-oxidation and ketone body degradation in heart.

4-Bromocrotonic acid was found to effectively inhibit respiration supported by either palmitoylcarnitine or acetoacetate in coupled rat heart mitochondria. Partial inhibition was observed when 3-hydroxybutyrate served as a substrate, whereas pyruvate-supported respiration was unaffected by the inhibitor. Thus, 4-bromocrotonic acid inhibits fatty acid oxidation and ketone body degradation. When the enzymes of beta-oxidation and ketone body degradation were assayed in mitochondria preincubated with 4-bromocrotonic acid, only 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase and acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase were found to be inactive. Evidence is presented for the enzymatic conversion of 4-bromocrotonic acid to 3-keto-4-bromobutyryl-CoA which effectively inhibits both thiolases. A kinetic evaluation of the inhibitions caused by 4-bromocrotonic acid in coupled rat heart mitochondria demonstrated that 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase and respiration supported by palmitoyl carnitine are inactivated at equal rates. However, acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase was inactivated more rapidly than was respiration supported by acetoacetate. It is suggested that the thiolase-catalyzed step is rate-limiting in beta-oxidation or is as slow as other reactions are. In contrast the thiolytic cleavage of acetoacetyl-CoA does not seem to be rate-limiting in ketone body degradation.

Regulation of thiolases from pig heart. Control of fatty acid oxidation in heart.

The effects of various mitochondrial coenzymes and metabolities on the activities of 3-oxoacyl-CoA thiolase (EC 2.3.1.16) and acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase (EC 2.3.1.9) from pig heart were investigated with the aim of elucidating the possible regulation of these two enzymes. Of the compounds tested, acetyl-CoA was the most effective inhibitor of both thiolases. However, 3-oxoacyl-CoA thiolase was more severly inhibited by acetyl-CoA than was acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase. 3-Oxoacyl-CoA thiolase was also significantly inhibited by decanoyl-CoA while acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase was inhibited by 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA as strongly as it was by acetyl-CoA. All other compounds either did not affect the thiolase activities or only at unphysiologically high concentrations. The inhibition of acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase by acetyl-CoA was linear and apparently noncompetitive with respect to CoASH (Ki = 125 microM) whereas that of 3-oxoacyl-CoA thiolase was nonlinear. However at low concentrations of acetyl-CoA the inhibition of 3-oxoacyl-CoA thiolase was linear competitive with respect to CoASH (Ki = 3.9 microM). It is concluded that 3-oxoacyl-CoA thiolase, but not acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase, will be completely inhibited by acetyl-CoA at concentrations of CoASH and acetyl-CoA which are assumed to exist intramitochondrially at state-4 respiration. It is suggested that fatty acid oxidation in heart muscle at sufficiently high concentrations of plasma free fatty acids is controlled via the regulation of 3-oxoacyl-CoA thiolase by the acetyl-CoA/CoASH ratio which is determined by the rate of the citric acid cycle and consequently by the energy demand of the tissue.