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1. A non-enzymic method for the preparation of adenosine 5'-diphosphate is described, in which the terminal phosphate of adenosine 5'-triphosphate is transferred to methanol in the presence of hydrochloric acid. The final purified product can be obtained in 60% yield. 2. Experiments with [(14)C]methanol showed that no methylation of the adenosine diphosphate occurs during the reaction. 3. Confirmation that the pyrophosphate moiety of the adenosine diphosphate produced was in the 5'-position was obtained by: (a) periodate oxidation; (b) treatment with apyrase and examination of the resulting adenylic acid isomer by paper chromatography. 4. The method appears to be generally applicable to the preparation of nucleoside 5'-diphosphates from the corresponding nucleoside 5'-triphosphates.

1. Inorganic [(32)P]phosphate, [U-(14)C]glycerol and [2-(14)C]ethanolamine were injected into the lateral ventricles in the brains of adult rats, and the labelling of individual phospholipids was followed over 2-4 months in both a microsomal and a highly purified myelin fraction. 2. All the phospholipids in myelin became appreciably labelled, although initially the specific radioactivities of the microsomal phospholipids were somewhat higher. Eventually the specific radioactivities in microsomal and myelin phospholipids fell rapidly at a rate corresponding to the decline of radioactivity in the acid-soluble pools. 3. Equivalent experiments carried out in developing rats with [(32)P]phosphate administered at the start of myelination showed some persistence of phospholipid labelling in the myelin, but this could partly be attributed to the greater retention of (32)P in the acid-soluble phosphorus pool and recycling. 4. It is concluded that a substantial part of the phospholipid molecules in adult myelin membranes is readily exchangeable, although a small pool of slowly exchangeable material also exists. 5. A slow incorporation into or loss of labelled precursor from myelin phospholipids does not necessarily give a good indication of the rate of renewal of the molecules in the membrane. As presumably such labelled molecules originate by exchange with those in another membrane site (not necessarily where synthesis occurs) it is only possible to calculate the turnover rate in the myelin membrane if the behaviour of the specific radioactivity with time of the phospholipid molecules in the immediate precursor pool is known.

1. The activity of phospholipase D (phosphatidylcholine phosphatidohydrolase, EC 3.1.4.4) towards ultrasonically treated phosphatidylcholine or large phosphatidylcholine particles activated with ether was maximal near pH5, and there was little activity above pH6. 2. When the enzyme was activated by the addition of phosphatidic acid to large phosphatidylcholine particles the pH optimum was shifted to pH6.5 irrespective of the amount of activator added. 3. When the enzyme was activated with low concentrations of dodecyl sulphate the pH optimum was 5.5 with little activity above pH6. With higher concentrations of dodecyl sulphate the pH-activity profile was shifted upwards towards a pH optimum of 6.5-6.6, the magnitude of the shift depending on the extent of the hydrolysis. 4. The shifts in the pH-activity profiles cannot be correlated with changes in the ;surface pH' of the substrate particles calculated from the measurement of their zeta-potentials (electrophoretic mobilities).

1. The distribution of individual phospholipids was determined in hen brain and compared with that in sciatic nerve obtained in a previous investigation. Sciatic nerve is more enriched in the myelinic phospholipids ethanolamine plasmalogen, phosphatidylserine and sphingomyelin, but it contains relatively less triphosphoinositide, and much less diphosphoinositide, than the brain. 2. The course of incorporation of intraperitoneally injected (32)P into the acid-soluble phosphorus, phosphoinositides and total phospholipids of hen brain and sciatic nerve was followed. Although the maximum specific radioactivity in sciatic nerve of acid-soluble phosphorus is 4.5 times, and that of triphosphoinositide six times, that in the brain, the relative rate of triphosphoinositide phosphorus synthesis per gram of brain is three times that in sciatic nerve. 3. Administration of the demyelinating agent tri-o-cresyl phosphate to hens has no significant effect on the amounts or the rate of (32)P incorporation into the total phospholipids of the sciatic nerve. However, the rate of incorporation of (32)P into triphosphoinositide, although not its concentration, is raised from the first day after administration of the drug and remains thus 13 and 23 days later. 4. The incorporation of (32)P into polyphosphoinositides of hen brain slices in vitro was studied. The recovery of triphosphoinositide from the slices is markedly increased in the presence of EDTA, although the rate of incorporation of (32)P is unaffected. The incorporation of (32)P is dependent on the presence of Mg(2+) and Ca(2+) in the medium, and is decreased when Na(+) is replaced with K(+) or cholinium ions.

1. Experimental allergic encephalitogenic (EAE) protein was isolated from ox spinal cord by a modification of the method of Martenson & LeBaron (1966). 2. The protein was examined by acrylamide-gel electrophoresis and its amino acid composition determined. 3. Sedimentation-velocity runs in the ultracentrifuge indicate a molecular weight of about 15100 at pH7.8, and calculation suggests that approx. 137 amino acid residues are present per molecule. 4. Gel-filtration and diffusion studies suggest that the protein is non-globular. 5. Optical-rotatory-dispersion measurements show the protein to have no helical secondary structure even at pH values near to the isoelectric point. In the presence of triphosphoinositide, changes in the optical rotatory dispersion of the protein could be interpreted to mean that it develops a small degree of secondary structure. 6. On treatment with cyanogen bromide the experimental allergic encephalitogenic protein is split into at least two fragments, the larger of which is only about 12% smaller than the parent protein and is antigenically active, and the smaller of which is devoid of antigenic activity.

1. Measurements have been made of the interaction of cytochrome c, bovine serum albumin and synthetic oxytocin with low-pressure (2dyn/cm) monolayers of stearic acid, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine. 2. [(14)C]Carboxymethylation of the cytochrome c and albumin followed by surface-radioactivity determinations have shown that only a proportion of the protein added to the subphase is bound to the monolayers and that initially the degree of binding is dependent on the protein concentration. The binding is irreversible in the sense that the adsorbed protein cannot be removed by transferring the film containing the interacted protein to a fresh subphase containing no protein. 3. Three successive types of interaction can usually be recognized. (a) Initially, whole molecules of protein penetrate the lipid film and occupy the same area as those of the protein spread at the air/water interface. (b) Above certain film pressures a part of each protein molecule, probably hydrophobic side chains, penetrates the film. The change in surface pressure per unit of bound protein is much smaller than in (a). (c) At higher film pressures, adsorption without penetration occurs. With cytochrome c this is initially dependent on a favourable electrostatic interaction.

1. A phospholipid that rapidly disappears from pea seeds during the early stages of germination has been isolated and shown to be N-acylphosphatidylethanolamine. 2. Chromatographic evidence for the presence of the same phospholipid in oats, soya beans and spring (tick) beans has been obtained, and its loss during early germination measured. 3. A scheme for the stepwise degradation of the phospholipid with alkali and acid is presented.

1. On fractionation of guinea-pig forebrain homogenates by differential and gradient-density centrifugation most of the polyphosphoinositides were recovered in the myelin-rich particles. 2. The phospholipids of pure preparations of myelin contained di- and tri-phosphoinositide in proportions 2-3 times greater than in the whole-brain phospholipids. 3. Di- and tri-phosphoinositide appeared in young rat brain during the period of myelination. 4. After the administration of [(32)P]phosphate to guinea pigs the labelling of the polyphosphoinositides in isolated pure myelin was as great as in the whole brain, whereas little synthesis of the other myelin phospholipids had occurred. 5. When brain subcellular fractions were incubated with [gamma-(32)P]ATP, some triphosphoinositide labelling occurred in the myelin-rich fraction whereas the active labelling of diphosphoinositide was localized mainly in the mitochondrial fraction. 6. The Na(+), K(+) and Mg(2+) plus Ca(2+) concentrations in purified myelin have been determined. The Mg(2+) plus Ca(2+) content present showed close acid-base equivalence to the polyphosphoinositides. 7. It is concluded that di- and tri-phosphoinositide are rapidly-metabolizing components of the myelin sheath or intimately associated structures.

1. The highest surface pressure of phosphatidylcholine monolayers allowing penetration of delipidated serum albumin decreased in the order dibehenoyl>distearoyl>dipalmitoyl=dimyristoyl. This pressure was not related to the area occupied or to the space available between the phospholipid molecules at the interface. 2. Penetration of albumin into yeast phosphatidylcholine monolayers was increased by adding a small percentage of long-chain anions (phosphatidic acid, dicetylphosphoric acid) to the film but only when the protein was below its isoelectric point (i.e. positively charged). 3. Stearylamine added to phosphatidylcholine monolayers had no effect on albumin penetration even when the protein was oppositely charged to that of the phospholipid/water interface. 4. The results are discussed in relation to the activation of certain phospholipases by anionic amphipathic substances.

1. An enzyme in extracts of mammalian tissues catalyses the hydrolysis of d-myoinositol 1:2-cyclic phosphate (an intermediary in the enzymic degradation of phosphatidylinositol) to produce d-myoinositol 1-phosphate. 2. The enantiomorph of the substrate is not attacked. 3. The pH optimum is about 8.1-8.3 and the reaction is stimulated by Mg(2+) ions. 4. Extracts from rat kidney cortex and medulla are very rich sources of the enzyme; brain, testis and small intestine contain intermediary activities, and other tissues contain very small amounts.

1. The metabolism of phosphatidylinositol in pig thyroid has been investigated as a basis for understanding the specific stimulation of the synthesis of this phospholipid in the gland by thyrotropin. 2. The gland contained an active Ca(2+)-dependent phosphatidylinositol-splitting enzyme with an optimum pH of 5.3-5.5. 3. The major water-soluble product (65%) formed by this catabolic enzyme was not phosphorylinositol but a related compound, which may be a cyclic phosphorylinositol. Both this and phosphorylinositol (35%) were released simultaneously from the phosphatidylinositol substrate. 4. The phosphatidylinositol-splitting enzyme was found almost exclusively in the supernatant fraction obtained by homogenization of the gland. It was not present in the acid-phosphatase-containing particulate fraction. 5. The incorporation of [2-(3)H(1)]inositol into phosphatidylinositol in the presence of either CDP-diglyceride or CTP+ATP was most active in the microsomal fraction. 6. When thyroidal microsomes were labelled with [(3)H]inositol and (32)P, and then incubated with unlabelled inositol, there was a dramatic loss of (3)H labelling from the phosphatidylinositol, which was not accompanied by an equivalent loss of (32)P from the phosphate moiety. This turnover of the inositol moiety required nucleotide coenzymes. It is postulated that the phosphatidylinositol is split into inositol and a phosphorus-containing lipid precursor of the phospholipid that remains on the microsomal membrane and is recycled. 7. Isolated thyroidal mitochondria synthesized phosphatidylinositol from [2-(3)H(1)]inositol only because of their contaminating microsomal component. 8. Some evidence has been obtained of a rapid transfer of phosphatidylinositol molecules from thyroidal microsomes to mitochondria when these were incubated together in the presence of a supernatant fraction. 9. Both phosphatidylinositol breakdown by the supernatant fraction of the gland and synthesis by the microsomes were totally inhibited by 1mm-chlorpromazine. This drug is known to suppress thyrotrophin-induced stimulation of activity in thyroid slices.

1. The distribution of phospholipase D (phosphatidylcholine phosphatido-hydrolase, EC 3.1.4.4) was examined in the tissues of a number of plants and seeds. 2. The highest activities were found in various swollen storage tissues of certain plants: cabbage, central stalk; cauliflower, flower; celery, swollen leaf stalk; Kohl rabi, swollen stem; carrot, root; pea and marrow, seed. 3. Appreciable activity was retained in pea seeds for at least 1 year after drying. After germination and growth in the dark the total activity present in the cotyledons and also in the whole seedling decreased. 4. In the growing pea seedling (7 days old), about 3% of the total activity was in the plumule, 9% in the root and the remainder in the cotyledons. However, the activity in the root on a dry-weight basis was higher than that in the cotyledons. In both the root and the plumule the activity on a wet- or a dry-weight basis was highest in the growing tip. 5. The activity per dry weight in the roots and aerial parts of pea plants declined to low values as growth continued, but roots struck from cuttings of mature plants showed the same high activity as found in roots from young seedlings with cotyledons attached. 6. The total phospholipids present in the cotyledons of pea seeds were depleted on germination and growth. Of the individual phospholipids, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine showed the same loss in 11 days as the whole phospholipid fraction, whereas phosphatidylinositol was decreased to a greater extent and cardiolipin and phosphatidylserine were not decreased. There was no increase of phosphatidic acid, as might have been expected if the phospholipids had disappeared through phospholipase D hydrolysis. 7. It is concluded that phospholipase D in plant storage tissues and seeds may be related to the rapid growth involved in their formation rather than being necessary for the utilization of their food reserve substances.

1. The stability of monolayers of a highly unsaturated yeast lecithin labelled with (32)P has been investigated by a surface radioactivity technique. 2. Lecithin films on distilled water at all surface pressures between 6 and 48dynes/cm. were completely stable on rapid perfusion of the subphase and on addition of ionic amphipathic substances to the film. 3. Ultrasonically treated lecithin added to the subphase caused a slow loss of surface radioactivity but little pressure change. 4. The addition of proteins to the subphase caused negligible changes in the film even when conditions were favourable for electrostatic heterocoagulation and penetration. 5. Lecithin films were not hydrolysed by a strongly acid subphase at room temperature. The very low rate of hydrolysis produced by alkali was proportional to the subphase OH(-)ion concentration: the apparent activation energy and temperature coefficient (Q(10)) of the reaction were 14250 cal. and 2.37 respectively. 6. Alkaline hydrolysis of lecithin monolayers was markedly stimulated by adding methanol (10-20%, v/v) to the subphase. The addition of ionic amphipaths to the monolayer had the expected type of effect on the hydrolysis rate, but its magnitude was far less than that suggested by an application of the Poisson-Boltzmann equation for ion distribution at a charged interface (Davies & Rideal, 1963).

1. The [(32)P]phosphate incorporated into the phospholipids of isolated rat hepatic cells is present in phosphatidic acid and to a smaller extent in phosphatidylinositol. 2. The ability to synthesize nitrogen-containing phospholipids is restored by adding a liver supernatant fraction, and it is suggested that the metabolic deficiency is caused by the leakage of cytoplasmic enzymes of the synthetase system from the cells. 3. Fortified cell preparations were pulse-labelled with [(32)P]phosphate, [Me-(14)C]choline, [2-(14)C]ethanolamine and [U-(14)C]inositol and the subsequent fate of the labelled microsomal and mitochondrial phospholipids followed. 4. A fall in the specific radioactivity of microsomal phospholipids and a rise in that of mitochondrial phospholipids is interpreted as providing evidence of a transfer of labelled phospholipid molecules from the synthetic site (endoplasmic reticulum) to the mitochondrial membranes in the intact cells. 5. The formation of the phospholipids of mitochondrial membranes is discussed.

1. Phosphatidyl-N-(2-hydroxyethyl)alanine was isolated from the mixed protozoal fraction of rumen and characterized. 2. Of the fatty acids 31% was octadecenoic acid, 91% of which was the trans-Delta(11)-isomer, an intermediary in the ruminal hydrogenation of linolenic acid and linoleic acid.