Hydrolase in Cardiac Subcellular Fractions of Hyperthyroid Rabbits

Activities of phosphatidate phosphohydrolase and palmitoyl-CoA hydrolase were determined in cardiac subcellular fractions prepared from rabbits which had received tri-iodothyronine and from hamsters with hereditary cardiomyopathy (strain BIO 14.6). 1. Both mitochondrial and microsomal fractions of hyperthyroid rabbit hearts produced 4-5 times as much diacylglycerol 3-phosphate from glycerol 3-phosphate and palmitate as did those of euthyroid hearts. 2. Phosphatidate phosphohydrolase, measured with phosphatidate emulsion, was activated by 1 mM-Mg2+ in all but the mitochondrial fraction of euthyroid rabbit hearts. The activation was more pronounced in subcellular fractions isolated from hyperthyroid hearts, so that the measured activities were significantly increased above those of the controls. The highest activity was found in the microsomal and lysosomal fractions. 3. In the absence of Mg2+ during incubation, the difference in phosphohydrolase activities between euand hyper-thyroid states was not significant. 4. The phosphohydrolase of subcellular fractions of control hamsters did not respond to addition of 0.5-8.0mM-Mg2+. The enzyme from cardiomyopathic hearts was slightly inhibited by this bivalent cation and therefore significant increases in activity were observed only in the absence of Mg2+ from the assay system. 5. The rate of reaction by soluble phosphatidate phosphohydrolase was similar regardless of the nature of the substrate. Both when microsomal-bound phosphatidate was used as the substrate and when phosphatidate suspension was used, the activity of soluble enzyme was lower than that of the microsomal and lysosomal enzymes measured with phosphatidate suspension; this was especially so when the assay was carried out in the absence of Mg2+. Neither tri-iodothyronine nor cardiomyopathy influenced the soluble phosphohydrolase activity in the two species. 6. Neither tri-iodothyronine nor cardiomyopathy significantly changed palmitoyl-CoA hydrolase activities in subcellular fractions. 7. Microsomal diacylglycerol acyltransferase and myocardial triacylglycerol content were also unchanged in the hyperthyroid state.