Abstract
THE deamidation of glutamine to glutamic acid and ammonia by animal tissues is accelerated by phosphate and certain other divalent inorganic anions1,2. Of the organs studied, the kidney has the highest concentration of the enzyme which catalyses this reaction3. A tentative mechanism for the action of renal glutaminase has been proposed4 on the basis of its activation by phosphate. The active centre of the enzyme is thought to have at least two cationic sites and possibly one sulphydryl site5. This communication presents the results of experiments showing the acceleration of glutamine hydrolysis in kidney tissue by a group of carboxylic acids most of which are intermediates of the Krebs tricarboxylic acid cycle. Kinetic studies reveal similarities between the activation of glutaminase by these acids and that by inorganic phosphate. Kidney cortices from rats were homogenized in ice cold 0.154 molar potassium chloride at 4° C. Mitochondria were prepared by spinning the homogenate at 800g for 15 min and then re-spinning the supernatant at 12,000g for 20 min. The mitochondrial pellet was washed twice. The washed mitochondria were then incubated with glutamine in tris buffer at 37° C. When salts of the organic acids and phosphate were added, their concentration in the incubation medium, unless otherwise stated, was always 0.3 molar. The pH was 8.0 unless varied as stated.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Carter, C. E., and Greenstein, J. P., J. Nat. Cancer Inst., 7, 433 (1947).
Gilbert, J. B., Price, V. E., and Greenstien, J. P., J. Biol. Chem., 180, 209 (1949).
Meister, A., Physiol. Rev., 36, 103 (1956).
Sayre, F. W., and Roberts, E., J. Biol. Chem., 233, 1128 (1958).
Roberts, E., in The Enzymes, second ed., 4, 285 (Academic Press, Inc., New York, 1960).
Meister, A., J. Biol. Chem., 200, 571 (1953).
Klingman, J. D., and Handler, P., J. Biol. Chem., 232, 369 (1958).
Lineweaver, H., and Burk, D., J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 56, 658 (1934).
Hird, F. J. R., and Marginson, M. A., Nature, 201, 1224 (1964).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
O'DONOVAN, D., LOTSPEICH, W. Activation of Kidney Mitochondrial Glutaminase by Inorganic Phosphate and Organic Acids. Nature 212, 930–932 (1966). https://doi.org/10.1038/212930a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/212930a0
This article is cited by
-
Discontinuous ammonia excretion and glutamine storage in littoral Oniscidea (Crustacea: Isopoda): testing tidal and circadian models
Journal of Comparative Physiology B (2013)
-
Novel Form of Phosphate Activated Glutaminase in Cultured Astrocytes and Human Neuroblastoma Cells, PAG in Brain Pathology and Localization in the Mitochondria
Neurochemical Research (2008)
-
Ammonia metabolism during acid-base disturbance
Irish Journal of Medical Science (1985)
-
Impaired energy metabolism in skeletal muscle during phosphate depletion
Kidney International (1983)
-
Small intestine glutaminase deficiency in celiac disease
The American Journal of Digestive Diseases (1968)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.