A study on the tricarboxylic acid cycle and the synthesis of acetylcholine in the lobster nerve

1. The pattern of metabolism of (14)C-labelled substrates in the lobster nerve suggested a normal tricarboxylic acid cycle with a slow turnover. 2. Acetylcholine was synthesized from [2-(14)C]acetate, [2-(14)C]pyruvate and [1,5-(14)C]citrate, implying the presence of acetate thiokinase, choline acetylase and citrate-cleavage enzyme. 3. [2-(14)C]Acetate was the best precursor. 4. The formation of acetyl-CoA from citrate was limited, probably by the citrate-cleavage enzyme, although the magnitude of the reversed reactions of the tricarboxylic acid cycle was large when compared with that of the forward reactions. 5. The relative magnitude of the two pathways (acetyl-CoA and carbon dioxide fixation) in pyruvate utilization was nearly equal. 6. The probable presence of metabolic compartments in the lobster nerve is discussed.

A study on the precursors of the acetyl moiety of acetylcholine in brain slices. Observations on the compartmentalization of the acetyl-coenzyme A pool

1. A method was devised for the determination of the specific radioactivity of the acetyl moiety of acetylcholine synthesized from various (14)C-labelled substrates. 2. The precursor for the acetyl moiety of acetylcholine was studied in slices of striatum and cerebral cortex from rat and guinea-pig brain. Incorporation of radioactivity into acetylcholine was determined after incubating the slices in the presence of [2-(14)C]acetate, [(14)C]bicarbonate, [1,5-(14)C]citrate, dl-[1- or 5-(14)C]glutamate or [1- or 2-(14)C]pyruvate. 3. After incubation for 1h, acetylcholine was accumulated significantly in both striatum slices (4.1nmol/mg of protein) and cerebral-cortex slices (0.57nmol/mg of protein) from the rat. Final concentrations were about 11 and 5 times respectively the initial values. 4. With slices from rat striatum, rat cerebral cortex and guinea-pig cerebral cortex, the specific radioactivity of acetylcholine derived from [2-(14)C]pyruvate was very high, reaching approx. 30, 20 and 6% respectively of the initial specific radioactivity of added pyruvate in the medium. With the striatum slices this high value was reached after incubation for 15min. Incorporation of radioactivity from [2-(14)C]acetate was only 1.25, 5.3 and 19.7% of that from [2-(14)C]pyruvate in rat striatum, rat cerebral-cortex and guinea-pig cerebral-cortex slices respectively. A small but definite incorporation was found from [5-(14)C]glutamate. No incorporation was found from the other substrates. The findings suggest that pyruvate is the most important precursor for the synthesis of the acetyl moiety of acetylcholine in brain slices. 5. The specific radioactivity of acetylcholine relative to that of citrate when [2-(14)C]pyruvate was used compared with that obtained when [2-(14)C]acetate was used. A marked difference was found in all slices, suggesting metabolic compartmentation of the acetyl-CoA pool.

Changes in DNA and RNA in the rat adenohypophysis following bilateral adrenalectomy, sham adrenalectomy, and the chronic injection of cortisol

Changes in adenohypophyseal DNA and RNA content were determined as a function of time following adrenalectomy, sham adrenalectomy, and the chronic injection of cortisol. The stess of operation resulted in a transient increase in adenohypophyseal nucleic acid content, whereas the increase in secretion of ACTH induced by feedback control did not. An attempt is made to correlate the changes in nucleic acid content with the concurrent changes in the intensity of biosynthesis of ACTH.