J. H. Quastel

The rate of absorption of glucose from isolated surviving guinea pig intestine increases with increase of the concentration of glucose in the lumen until a maximum rate is obtained. The relation between absorption rate of glucose and initial glucose concentration conforms to an equation of the Michaelis–Menten type. The apparent K m (half saturation concentration) is 7 × 10 −3 M. Increase of the concentration of potassium ions in the Ringer–bicarbonate solution bathing the intestine leads to an increase of the rate of glucose absorption, this being most marked with 15.6 meq./liter K + and 14 mM glucose. No such stimulating action of potassium ions is observed on glucose absorption under anaerobic conditions. The effect of increased potassium ion concentration is to accelerate the rate of transport found with low concentrations of glucose to the maximum value found with high concentrations of the sugar. Sodium ions must be present for glucose absorption to take place and omission of magnesium ions from a Ringer–bicarbonate solution, containing 15.6 meq./liter K + , brings about a decreased rate of active glucose transport. Magnesium ions are necessary for the stimulated rate of glucose absorption obtained in the presence of potassium ions. The presence of ammonium ions decreases the rate of glucose absorption. Potassium ions may be effectively replaced by rubidium ions for stimulation of glucose transport. Cesium ions do not activate. The proportion of glucose to fructose appearing in the serosal solution, when fructose is absorbed from the mucosal solution, depends on the concentration of fructose present. The proportion may be as high as 9:1 with low (7 mM) fructose concentrations; it decreases with increasing fructose concentrations. The active transport of fructose, as demonstrated by the conversion of fructose in the isolated surviving guinea pig intestine, is enhanced by the presence of potassium ions (15.6 meq./liter). The rate of transport of fructose itself is unaffected by potassium. Using radioactive glucose and fructose, it is shown that the total amount of sugar transferred through the intestine as estimated by the radioactivity appearing in the serosal solution is approximately that calculated from chemical analyses. Potassium ions have no activating action on the transport of sugars such as sorbose, mannose, and D-glucosamine, but have a marked effect on galactose transport. The results support the conclusion that potassium ions do not influence active transport of glucose, fructose, and galactose by a change of intestinal permeability to these sugars, but do so by affecting a specific phase involved in the mechanism of active transport of sugars. The presence of L-glutamine stimulates active transport of glucose, whereas that of L-glutamate tends to diminish it.

1. Amino acids, particularly glutamate, gamma-aminobutyrate, aspartate and glycine, were released from rat brain slices on incubation with protoveratrine (especially in a Ca(2+)-deficient medium) or with ouabain or in the absence of glucose. Release was partially or wholly suppressed by tetrodotoxin. 2. Tetrodotoxin did not affect the release of glutamine under various incubation conditions, nor did protoveratrine accelerate it. 3. Protoveratrine caused an increased rate of formation of glutamine in incubated brain slices. 4. Increased K(+) in the incubation medium caused release of gamma-aminobutyrate, the process being partly suppressed by tetrodotoxin. 5. Incubation of brain slices in a glucose-free medium led to increased production of aspartate and to diminished tissue contents of glutamates, glutamine and glycine. 6. Use of tetrodotoxin to suppress the release of amino acids from neurons in slices caused by the joint action of protoveratrine and ouabain (the latter being added to diminish reuptake of amino acids), it was shown that the major pools of glutamate, aspartate, glycine, serine and probably gamma-aminobutyrate are in the neurons. 7. The major pool of glutamine lies not in the neurons but in the glia. 8. The tricarboxylic cycle inhibitors, fluoroacetate and malonate, exerted different effects on amino acid contents in, and on amino acid release from, brain slices incubated in the presence of protoveratrine. Fluoroacetate (3mm) diminished the content of glutamine, increased that of glutamate and gamma-aminobutyrate and did not affect respiration. Malonate (2mm) diminished aspartate and gamma-aminobutyrate content, suppressed respiration and did not affect glutamine content. It is suggested that malonate acts mainly on the neurons, and that fluoroacetate acts mainly on the glia, at the concentrations quoted. 9. Glutamine was more effective than glutamate as a precursor of gamma-aminobutyrate. 10. It is suggested that glutamate released from neurons is partly taken up by glia and converted there into glutamine. This is returned to the neurons where it is hydrolysed and converted into glutamate and gamma-aminobutyrate.

Research Article| January 01 1928 Some properties of the dehydrogenating enzymes of bacteria Juda Hirsch Quastel; Juda Hirsch Quastel 1The Biochemical Laboratory, Cambridge Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Walter Reginald Wooldridge Walter Reginald Wooldridge 1The Biochemical Laboratory, Cambridge Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Biochem J (1928) 22 (3): 689–702. https://doi.org/10.1042/bj0220689 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Cite Icon Cite Get Permissions Citation Juda Hirsch Quastel, Walter Reginald Wooldridge; Some properties of the dehydrogenating enzymes of bacteria. Biochem J 1 January 1928; 22 (3): 689–702. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/bj0220689 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll JournalsBiochemical Journal Search Advanced Search © 1928 CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS1928 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

DURING the course of experiments on the respiratory activities of intact, minced and ground mammalian tissues we have found that there exists in brain and in liver a very active mechanism which accomplishes the breakdown of cozymase u'nder both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. We have also found that this mechanism can be inhibited in a specific manner by nicotinamide. A preliminary note incorporating these results has already been published [Mann & Quastel, 1941]. The following communication is concerned with a description in detail of these atid further results, together with observations on the effects of nico- tinamide on the inhibitory activity of cobra venom in respiratory systems.