[Technic of long term neuron unit-recording on the free animal]

Technique of long-term recording from single neurons in brain of freely moving animals with floating mobile microelectrodes.

17 beta-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase of the sheep ovary : purification, properties and substrate binding site

Sheep ovarian 17 beta HSDH has been purified about 1000 fold to a specific activity of 0.5 IU/mg protein, using DEAE cellulose chromatography, affinity chromatography on estrone-amino caproate-Sepharose and a second DEAE cellulose chromatography. The molecular weight is 70,000 ; the pH optimum for activity is 9.2 and the energy of activation is 16.5 Kcal/mole. The kinetics of the oxidation of estradiol and many analogues have been studied at various concentrations and in the presence of different amounts of coenzyme. The data are in agreement with a compulsory order mechanism with the binding of NAD+ as the first substrate. Sheep ovarian 17 beta HSDH accepts subtituents in position C3, C11, C13 ; the substrate binding site is open in this region. On the contrary, the binding requirements are strict for the region of C10 since the presence of a C19 methyl group impairs binding and (or) oxidation of the steroid. Sheep ovarian and human placental 17 beta HSDH have close analogies : molecular weight, pH optimum, substrate binding site requirements. Their reaction mechanisms are different : random for the placental 17 beta HSDH, compulsory order for the ovarian 17 beta HSDH : this can be explained by the effect of the coenzyme upon the binding of the substrate : without effect on placental enzyme, the coenzyme fixation enhances the affinity of the ovarian 17 beta HSDH for any substrate.

Studies on free or haptoglobin-bound hemoglobin and derivatives (semihemoglobins and porphyrinated semihemoglobins). Some aspects of their peroxidatic activity

The peroxidatic activity of hemoglobin (Hb) is known to be enhanced when this hemoprotein is bound to haptoglobin (Hp). The peroxidatic reaction (H2O2, guaiacol as donor) has been kinetically studied (Steady-state) in the presence of free or rabbit-haptoglobin bound human hemoglobin and some of its derivatives, all in ferricyano-form. With free Hb+ CN, we observed linearity of Lineweaver and Burk plots in a wide range of concentrations, the donor's behaviour was therefore assumed to obey the Michaelis-Menten mechanism. When Hp-Hb+ CN is the enzyme, the donor's behaviour is more complicated, analysis shows the existence of two kinds of donor's binding sites. The possibility whether this behaviour might correspond to the intrinsic properties of Hb chains, as revealed after combination with Hp, was examined. The peroxidatic activity of free and Hp-bound alpha and beta chains of Hb were studied. The alpha chains of Hb combine with Hp whereas the beta chains fail to do so. In order to make useful comparisons, the peroxidatic activity of Hp-bound alpha and beta chains were studied by the use of Hp-semihemoglobin complexes where the semihemoglobins carried heme on only one type of chain (alpha or beta). Results did not show an evident correlation between the activities of the two free or bound types of chains and those of the two classes of binding sites revealed in Hp-Hb+ CN. Moreover, it appeared that the heme-free complementary chain might influence the activity of the heme-carrying alpha or beta chain in semihemoglobins and Hp-semihemoglobin complexes. The binding or protoporphyrin on free and Hp-bound semihemoglobins leads to species which exhibit structures close to that of Hb and Hp-Hb complex respectivley. Results of studies on these derivatives brought up new interesting data : when the porphyrin ring alone is bound to the heme deficient chains (alpha or beta), in Hp-semihemoglobin complexes, the same peculiar behaviour, already observed with Hp-Hb complex, is found again. The structural implications of these results are discussed.