[Angiotensin-converting enzyme stability in the presence of zinc-ions different concentrations]

Stability of angiotensin-converting enzyme was studied as a dependence on the zinc-ions concentrations brining in the apo-enzyme. Our data were discussed in the terms of a set of initial permissible conformation conditions of a protein (conformation distribution). Apo-enzyme was shown to be able to the radiation activation that is disappearing in the presence of even 10(-6 )mol/l of the zinc-ions.

On various possibilities in pulsed radiation biochemistry and chemistry

Several experiments are described that relate to the application of new regimes of radiation action on enzymes in vitro and some other materials. These regimes have recently come into practice due to the appearance of a new generation of devices with very short high-energy pulses of ionizing radiation. It is shown that the term "flash radiation biochemistry" in its perfect sense has to be used at the condition of the overlapping individual effective interaction microvolumes (e.g. spurs and blobs) realized during a time interval (radiation pulse duration) that is low compared with the corresponding physical-chemical process. In this situation a number of unexpected effects occur at very low absolute doses. These processes are analyzed in terms of their non-stationary and non-diffusive developments.

[Radioenzymatic investigation of membrane and soluble forms of angiotensin-converting enzyme in acetate-phosphate buffer]

The dose response of soluble and membrane forms of angiotensin-converting enzyme to gamma-irradiation is investigated at different pH values of the medium and at different concentrations of acetate-phosphate buffer. Membrane form of the enzyme is more stable shows principally other conformational equilibrium than the soluble form. "Splitted" activation peaks on the curves of the enzyme dose response are observed.

[Radiation activation of angiotensin-converting enzyme during low-dose irradiation]

Radiation activation of angiotensin-converting enzyme (respect to Cbz-Phe-His-Leu as substrate) was obtained at the gamma (137Cs, t(irr) = 10s-2h, D approximately 3 Gy)- and X (plasma foces source, t(irr) = 10(-9)s, Cu-filter, D approximately 2 x 10(-5) Gy)-irradiation. The inactivation of the horseradish peroxidase at the same X-irradiation dose (2 x 10(-5) Gy) took place. Based on the experimental data and on the mathematical model proposed by us we made a conclusion that the special points exist on the dose response curves. Besides, the deduction that an activation is a common process at radiation changes of the different enzymes follows from our model. The activation of tobacco peroxidase (in presence of Ca(2+)-cations and without them) and of recombinant horseradish peroxidase (in presence of H2O2) by gamma-irradiation was really observed (respect to guaiacol as substrate).

Radiation-induced early pulmonary endothelial ectoenzyme dysfunction in vivo: effect of indomethacin

We investigated the early effects of radiation on pulmonary endothelial function in vivo 7-8 hr after exposure of rabbits to a single dose of 30 Gy to the chest. Utilizing multiple indicator-dilution techniques, we measured rates and kinetics of hydrolysis of the synthetic substrates [3H]benzoyl-Phe-Ala-Pro (BPAP) and [14C]benzoyl-Ala-Gly-Pro (BAGP) by endothelial-bound angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and of 5'[14C]-AMP by endothelial-bound 5'-nucleotidase (NCT) and binding of the synthetic ACE inhibitor [3H]RAC-X-65 during a single transpulmonary passage in anesthetized, artificially ventilated, open-chest rabbits in which both systemic and pulmonary circulations were fully supported by an extracorporeal pump. We have shown that these techniques and the use of the aforementioned probes provide reliable information on pulmonary endothelial function in vivo. Radiation to the chest produced endothelial ectoenzyme dysfunction, as reflected in altered available perfused capillary surface area and altered enzyme kinetics of all probes (decreases in substrate hydrolysis, inhibitor binding, first- and second-order kinetic constants) over a wide range of pulmonary blood flow values (reflecting approximately 60-200% of normal cardiac output). Indomethacin prevented most of these alterations in partially as well as fully recruited lungs. We conclude that impairment of endothelial ectoenzyme activity is an early event in the pathogenesis of radiation-induced lung damage, which occurs independently of hemodynamic influences and may involve synthesis of arachidonic acid metabolites.

[Changes in the level of the angiotensin-converting enzyme activity in the spermatozoa of patients with chronic prostatitis and of participants in the cleanup of the accident at the Chernobyl Atomic Electric Power Station]

The method of determination of angiotensin-converting enzyme activity in human spermatozoa and sperm plasma was developed. The amount of total and active-mobile spermatozoa was shown to be less in Chernobyl victims than in healthy donors. Moreover, the specific activity of angiotensin-converting enzyme in Chernobyl victims spermatozoa calculated per 10(6) cells was 12-fold greater than in spermatozoa of the donors. Similar phenomenon, although to a les extent, was observed in patients with chronic prostatitis. The enzyme activity in blood serum and sperm plasma was also demonstrated to be similar for all groups investigated and equal to that in healthy donors.

Radiation-induced alterations in angiotensin converting enzyme activity in cultured bovine pulmonary arterial endothelial cell monolayers

Bovine pulmonary arterial endothelial cells (BPAE) were exposed to a single dose 0, 5, 10, 20, or 30 Gy, in culture. Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) activity was determined in confluent monolayers, under first-order reaction conditions, at 6, 24, 48, and 96 hr after treatment, using [3H]benzoyl-Phe-Ala-Pro as substrate. Irradiation decreased the number of viable endothelial cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner, beginning at 24 hr after 5 Gy and reaching a maximum effect (21% survival) at 96 hr after 30 Gy. Total amount of protein per monolayer decreased during the same time intervals, whereas protein content per cell rose, signifying a radiation-induced hypertrophy of viable cells. When expressed per million surviving cells, ACE activity increased in a time- and dose-dependent manner, beginning at 24 hr after 5 Gy and reaching a maximum fourfold increase at 96 hr after 30 Gy. However, when expressed per culture well, ACE activity decreased in a time- and radiation-dependent manner. These results suggest that although at the lowest radiation dose (5 Gy), the increase in ACE activity per cell compensated for the enzymatic activity lost due to extensive cell death, at higher doses (10, 20, and 30 Gy), the increase in ACE activity per cell could not keep up with the decrease in the number of viable endothelial cells, leading to an overall decrease in ACE activity per culture well.

Angiotensin converting enzyme: an in vivo and in vitro marker of endothelial injury

An elevated level of von Willebrand factor (vWf) is a well-established marker for both in vivo and in vitro endothelial cell injury. Recent studies indicate that the plasma level of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) in systemic sclerosis is reduced in association with elevated vWf levels. Because the endothelial cell is capable of producing both mediators, and because endothelial cell injury is a fundamental process in systemic sclerosis, we investigated in this study the effect of in vitro endothelial cell injury on the synthesis of both factors. Endothelial cells derived from human umbilical veins, in the second passage, were activated by exposure to interleukin-1 or lymphotoxin or were injured by radiation, actinomycin, or trypsin (each can be shown to induce dose-dependent endothelial cell cytotoxicity). ACE (spectrophotometric method) and vWf levels (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method) were determined in the supernatant and in the cell lysate 48 hours after cellular injury and activation. An increase in vWf levels was found in the lysate and in the supernatant from the cells that underwent injury or activation, whereas ACE levels were increased after activation but decreased after injury. Next, and as an in vivo clinical corollary to the in vitro endothelial cell injury, we evaluated ACE and vWf levels in the plasma of seven children in the acute phase of Kawasaki disease, a disorder characterized by widespread vascular injury. Plasma ACE levels were significantly lower than control levels, whereas vWf levels were increased, reflecting the known prominent endothelial cell injury in this disease.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Minimal functional size of porcine lung and testicular angiotensin-converting enzymes deduced from radiation inactivation analysis. Interaction of two highly homologous domains in somatic isoenzyme

Domain structures of porcine lung and testicular angiotensin-converting enzymes (ACE) were studied by radiation inactivation to test the hypothesis that lung ACE has two catalytic sites localized to discrete, structurally independent domains (the N- and C-domains) of approximately equal size. The minimum functional sizes of lung and testicular ACE, calculated from the inactivation curves obtained, were 140 and 74 kDa, respectively. Since testicular ACE has been demonstrated to contain only the C domain, this result indicates that the two domains in lung ACE are not independent but are, in fact, structurally tightly linked.

Early effects of ionizing radiation on pulmonary endothelial angiotensin-converting enzyme and 5'-nucleotidase, in vivo

We investigated the early phase of pulmonary endothelial injury in rabbits exposed to a single dose (30 Gy) of ionizing radiation to the chest, by measuring endothelium-bound ectoenzyme activities. Utilizing multiple indicator-dilution techniques, the metabolism of [3H]benzoyl-Phe-Ala-Pro (BPAP) and [14C]5'-AMP by angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and 5'-nucleotidase (NCT), respectively, was studied during a single transpulmonary passage in conscious, chronically catheterized rabbits. From these data, the apparent kinetic constants Km and Amax were calculated. A significant (p less than 0.05) decrease in the metabolism of trace amounts of BPAP and 5'-AMP was observed at 2, 24, and 48 hr after irradiation. A similar decrease in the apparent first order rate constant (Amax/Km) of ACE was observed at 2 hr, but returned to control levels by 24 and 48 hr after irradiation. Apparent Km values of ACE for BPAP and NCT for 5'-AMP were elevated at 2, 24, and 48 hr post-treatment, whereas Amax (product of enzyme mass and the constant of product formation, kcat) of ACE was elevated at 2 and 24 hr but not at 48 hr, and Amax for NCT was elevated at 2 hr post-treatment only. Significant decreases in mean arterial blood pressure and pulmonary blood flow (Qb) at 2 hr post-treatment, and increases in Qb at 24 and 48 hr post-treatment were also recorded. No changes in endothelial structure were observed 2 hr after irradiation at the light or electron microscope level. We conclude that the early phase of radiation-induced lung injury includes changes in endothelial enzyme function in the absence of structural damage, as reflected in an apparent decrease in affinity of ACE and NCT for their substrates, allowing for the possibility that hemodynamic disturbances or their sequalae could also have contributed to the decrease in enzyme function.

Inactivation of kallikrein and kininases and stabilization of whole rat brain kinin levels following focused microwave irradiation

Focused microwave irradiation was employed to stabilize endogenous whole rat brain bradykinin levels prior to a simple extraction procedure. Skull microwave exposure (2450 MHz, 3.8 kW., 2.45 sec) resulted in inactivation to less than 5% of control of whole brain kallikrein and kininase activity. Using this adequate exposure duration whole rat brain kinin levels as measured by a sensitive radioimmunoassay were approximately 0.6 pmol/g (wet weight). Further purification of irradiated brain extracts using HPLC revealed that immunoreactive kinin eluted as a single peak that co-chromatographed with authentic bradykinin. Microwave fixation duration of 1.25 sec yielded greatly increased levels of immunoreactive kinin which following HPLC purification eluted in two peaks, corresponding to authentic bradykinin and T-kinin, respectively. The tissue injury resulting from incomplete microwave fixation resulted in the release of kinins. This excess immunoreactive kinin may be derived from cerebral blood, since the predominant form of kinin-generating protein in plasma is T-kininogen.

Radiation injury in rat lung. II. Angiotensin-converting enzyme activity

To determine the role of endothelial dysfunction in the pathogenesis of radiation-induced pulmonary injury, lung angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity, arterial perfusion, and ultrastructure were examined from 1 to 150 days after a single exposure of 25 Gy of 60Co gamma rays to the right hemithorax of rats. Arterial perfusion to the irradiated right lung increased during the first 2 weeks, then decreased to approximately 80% of the left lung value at 30 days postirradiation. Perfusion of the irradiated lung continued to decline, and by 90-150 days was only 40% of that of the shielded lung. ACE activity in the irradiated right lung did not change significantly until 30 days after exposure, when it decreased to 72% of that in the left lung. ACE activity in the right lung declined steadily from 30 to 90 days postirradiation, then reached a plateau through 150 days at less than 20% of normal. Perivascular and interstitial edema was evident at 1 day after irradiation and persisted for 30 days. Endothelial cells exhibited blebbing, fragmentation, and increased basement membrane at 30 days. Mast cells were present in the septa, but interstitial collagen was not increased at that time. From 90 to 150 days postexposure, progressive obliteration of capillaries by fibrotic reactions was observed. Thus decreased ACE activity accompanies radiation-induced hypoperfusion and endothelial ultrastructural changes in rat lung. All of these reactions precede the development of pulmonary fibrosis.

Effect of long-term exposure of rabbits to ultraviolet radiation on the level, creation and inactivation of kinins in blood

Experimental rabbits were exposed to ultraviolet radiation during 6 weeks once daily for 10 minutes (from a high-pressure. Hanau Q 400 mercury lamp with a Schott UG 2 T filtre and absorber of long-wave radiation using ultraviolet rays of 405--289 nm wavelength and 134 000 erg/sec/cm2 power, directed onto skin with cropped hair of the back). Under general anaesthesia with pentothal blood samples were obtained from the carotid artery in 4 groups of 8 rabbits in each group. The blood samples were taken from non-exposed control rabbits and from the experimental groups after 2, 4 and 6 weeks of exposure. In the samples the levels of free kinins in the blood, and kininogen, and the activity of kallikreins and kininases in the plasma were determined. In the irradiated animals a progressive rise of free kinins most pronounced after 6 weeks was observed, and other findings included: a fall of kininogen level particularly steep after 2 weeks, very small rise in the activity of kallikreins, and progressing reduction of the activity of kininase, particularly steep after 2 weeks.

The level of blood kinins, their creation and inactivation after one exposure to intense ultraviolet radiation in rabbits

Experimental rabbits were exposed to ultraviolet radiation once for 45 minutes, and blood samples were obtained from the carotid artery in these animals 45 min and 3, 6 and 24 hours after the end of this exposure. In the group of control rabbits blood samples were obtained in the same way without previous exposure to radiation. The hairs on the back were cut closely at the skin and this skin area was exposed to ultraviolet rays from a Hanau Q 400 burner at 405--289 nm wavelengths and at an intensity of 134 000 erg/sec/cm2, using an UG 2 T Schott filtre and an absorber of long-wave radiation. Blood samples were taken under thiopental anaesthesia. In the samples the level of free kinins was determined in the blood, and the level of kininogen and the activity of kallikreins and kininases were determined in the plasma. In the irradiated animals a rise of the kinin level was observed, with a fall in the kininogen level most pronounced after 3 hours, while the activity of kallikreins was raised and that of kininases was decreased particularly after 6 hours.

The effect of dianabol on the postirradiation disturbances of kininogenesis in rats

The effect of Dianabol on the irradiation-induced disturbances in kininogenesis in rats was studied. It was found that Dianabol inhibits the postradiation increase of the kininforming activity in tissues of rats and decreases the level of kinins in irradiated animals. A probable role of these properties of Dianabol in its radioprotective activity is discussed.