Abstract: 1,4,5,6-Tetrahydronicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (H2NADH) has been investigated as a reduced coenzyme analog in the reaction between trans-4-N,N-dimethylaminocinnamaldehyde (I) (lambdamax 398 nm, epsilonmax 3.15 X 10-4 M-minus 1 cm-minus 1) and the horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase-NADH complex. These equilibrium binding and temperature-jump kinetic studies establish the following. (i) Substitution of H2NADH for NADH limits reaction to the reversible formation of a new chromophoric species, lambdamax 468 nm, epsilonmax 5.8 x 10-4 M-minus 1 cm-minus 1. This chromophore is demonstrated to be structurally analogous to the transient intermediate formed during the reaction of I with the enzyme-NADH complex [Dunn, M. F., and Hutchison, J. S. (1973), Biochemistry 12, 4882]. (ii) The process of intermediate formation with the enzyme-NADH complex is independent of pH over the range 6.13-10.54. Although studies were limited to the pH range 5.98-8.72, a similar pH independence appears to hold for the H2NADH system. (iii) Within the ternary complex, I is bound within van der Waal's contact distance of the coenzyme nicotinamide ring. (iv) Formation of the transient intermediate does not involve covalent modification of coenzyme. Based on these findings, we conclude that zinc ion has a Lewis acid function in facilitating the chemical activation of the aldehyde carbonyl for reduction, and that reduced coenzyme plays a noncovalent effector role in this substrate activating step.

Abstract: Aim of study was to investigate the effects of transport stress on thyroid response, body weight, rectal temperature and heart rate changes in one hundred twenty-six healthy stallions in basal conditions, before and after short road transport. One hundred twenty-six Thoroughbreds and crossbreds stallions with previous travelling experience, aged 4 to 15 yr, were transported by road in a commercial trailer for a period of 3 h (distance <300 km). Blood samples and physiological parameters were collected at 0800 (basal I) and at 1100 (basal II), in each horse“s box, one week before the loading and transport in basal conditions, and one week later, at 0800 immediately before loading (pre-transport), and after 3 h period of transport and unloading, on their arrival at the breeding stations (post-transport), in each new horse”s box, within 30 min. Increases in circulating T3, T4 and fT4 levels (P < 0.01), but not for fT3 levels, were observed after transport, as compared to before loading values, irrespective of different breed. Lower T4 and fT4 levels were observed in basal II (P < 0.01) than basal I and before loading values (pre-transport). After transport Thoroughbreds showed higher fT3 (P < 0.05) and fT4 (P < 0.01) levels than crossbred stallions. No significant differences for T3 and T4 changes were observed. A significant increase in rectal temperature (P < 0.01) and heart rate (P < 0.05) was observed after transport, as compared to before loading values (pre-transport). No differences between basal I, basal II and before loading values (pre-transport) for physiological parameters were observed.
The highest T3, T4 and fT4 levels recorded after short transport seem to suggest a preferential release from the thyroid gland. The results indicate that short road transport stress contributes significantly to thyroid hormone changes, according to different breed, and to the increase in rectal temperature and heart rate. No differences related to different age were observed.

Abstract: The structure, thermodynamics, and kinetics of heat-induced unfolding of sperm whale apomyoglobin core formation have been studied. The most rudimentary core is formed at pH(*) 3.0 and up to 60 mM NaCl. Steady state for ultraviolet circular dichroism and fluorescence melting studies indicate that the core in this acid-destabilized state consists of a heterogeneous composition of structures of approximately 26 residues, two-thirds of the number involved for horse heart apomyoglobin under these conditions. Fluorescence temperature-jump relaxation studies show that there is only one process involved in Trp burial. This occurs in 20 micro s for a 7 degrees jump to 52 degrees C, which is close to the limits placed by diffusion on folding reactions. However, infrared temperature jump studies monitoring native helix burial are biexponential with times of 5 micro s and 56 micro s for a similar temperature jump. Both fluorescence and infrared fast phases are energetically favorable but the slow infrared absorbance phase is highly temperature-dependent, indicating a substantial enthalpic barrier for this process. The kinetics are best understood by a multiple-pathway kinetics model. The rapid phases likely represent direct burial of one or both of the Trp residues and parts of the G- and H-helices. We attribute the slow phase to burial and subsequent rearrangement of a misformed core or to a collapse having a high energy barrier wherein both Trps are solvent-exposed.

Abstract: The dynamic behavior of various types of cytochromes c in the redox reaction with iron hexacyanides was studied using a temperature-jump method in order to elucidate the molecular mechanism of the redox reaction of cytochromes with their oxidoreductants. Transmittance after the temperature jump changed through a single exponential decay for all cytochromes investigated. Under a constant concentration of anion, the redox reaction of various types of cytochrome c with iron hexacyanides was analyzed according to the scheme: Ki=kt/k-i (i=1,2,3) where C(III) and C(II) are ferric and ferrous cytochromes, respectively, Fe(III) and Fe(II) are ferri- and ferrocyanides, respectively, C(III) [middle dot] Fe(II) is the ferricytochrome-ferrocyanide complex and C(II) [middle dot] Fe(III) is the ferrocytochrome-ferricyanide complex. When step B is slower than the other two steps A and C, τ-1 can be represented approximately as where the bar over the variables denotes the equilibrium value. In a large excess of ferrocyanide against cytochrome, we can estimate k2, k-2, K1 and K3 independently. In the case of horse cytochrome c at 18[degree sign]C in 0.1 M phosphate buffer at pH 7 with 0.3 M KNO3, the estimated parameters are k2 = 100 +/- 50 s-1, k-2 = (3.5 +/- 1.0) [middle dot] 103 s-1, K1 = 15 +/- 7 M-1 and K3 = (8.5 +/- 1.5) [middle dot] 10-4 M. From the same experiments for seven cytochromes (cytochrome c from horse, tuna, Candida krusei, Saccharomyces oviformis, Rhodospirillum rubrum cytochrome c2, Spirulina platensis cytochrome c-554 and Thermus thermophilus cytochrome c-552), the following results can be deduced. (1) Each parameter defined in the scheme above (k2, k-2, K1, K3) diverged beyond the error range. Above all, k2 values of cytochromes c-554 and c-552 are as large as 1 [middle dot] 104 s-1 and much larger than those for the other cytochromes (to 50 approx. 700 S-1). (2) The variance of k2K1 and k-2/K3 are relatively less than the variances of individual parameters (k2, k-2, K1 and K3), which suggests that the values of k2K1 and k-2/K3 have been conserved during the course of evolution.