Nitric oxide (NO) signaling pathways and lipid oxidation reactions are of central importance in both the maintenance of vascular homeostasis and the progression of vascular disease. Because both of these pathways involve free radical species that can also react together at extremely fast rates, convergent interactions between these pathways are expected. Biochemical and cell biology studies hav...

The biochemical mechanism responsible for the osmotic sensitivity of glutamate oxidation in oyster (Crassostrea virginica Gmelin) gill mitochondria was examined. The relative roles of osmotically induced changes in matrix divalent cation concentration and ionic strength were determined. The calcium-magnesium ionophore A23187 inhibited glutamate oxidation in both low(40% of control rate) and hig...

Threonine 37 is conserved among all the members of the old yellow enzyme (OYE) family. The hydroxyl group of this residue forms a hydrogen bond with the C-4 oxygen atom of the FMN reaction center of the enzyme [Fox, K. M. & Karplus, P. A. (1994) Structure 2, 1089-1105]. The position of Thr-37 and its interaction with flavin allow for speculations about its role in enzyme activity. This residue ...

This study examines the relationship between impaired fatty acid oxidation and the pathogenesis of Reye syndrome. We present a hypothesis proposing that many clinical signs of this childhood disease are caused by accumulation of unusual acyl CoA esters, precursors to deacylated metabolites found in the patients' blood and urine. A new method was developed to measure acyl CoA compounds in small ...

Given their high metabolic rates, nectarivorous diet, and ability to directly fuel their energetically-expensive flight using recently-ingested sugar, we tested the hypothesis that Pallas long tongued nectar bats (Glossophaga soricina) possess flight muscles similar to those of hummingbirds with respect to enzymatic flux capacities in bioenergetic pathways. In addition, we compared these bioche...

The generalised peroxisomal disorders (GPDs) Zellweger syndrome (ZS), neonatal adrenoleucodystrophy (NALD), and infantile Refsum's disease (IRD) are autosomal recessive disorders associated with a failure to assemble mature peroxisomes. We confirmed the diagnosis of a GPD in eight ZS and four IRD patients (GPD1 to GPD12) biochemically by measuring very long chain fatty acids, plasmalogen biosyn...

The regioselective attack on microsomal phospholipid (PL) polar heads (PH) and fatty acyl chains (FC) demonstrated in vitro has been exploited for the selective quantitation in vivo of the biochemical damages produced by the oxidation and reduction products of CHCl3 metabolism. Five hours after CHCl3 injection (60 mg/kg body weight, ip) to control Sprague-Dawley rats, most of the label covalent...

Fatty infiltration of the liver at postmortem examination has been recommended as a criterion for selection of infants who have died suddenly and unexpectedly for further biochemical investigation for disorders of fatty acid oxidation. We describe a boy with medium chain acyl CoA dehydrogenase deficiency who died four months after diagnosis and in whom only minimal hepatic fatty infiltration wa...

Oxidation and disulfide coupling of cysteine, processes central to oxidative stress and biochemical signaling, are modeled using DFT and solvent-assisted proton exchange, a method of microsolvation. Calculated barriers are consistent with experimental kinetics and observed product ratios and suggest a dependence on the polarity of the surrounding medium.

In rats treated chronically with norepinephrine and thyroxine, enhanced nonshivering thermogenesis was observed, with a concomitant increase in the utilization of plasma free fatty acids (FFA). The increased utilization of plasma FFA was characterized by a more preferential increment in the oxidation of FFA in tissues rather than that in the uptake of FFA by tissues. These biochemical findings ...