1. Erabutoxins a, b and c, neurotoxic proteins of a sea snake Laticauda semifasciata, were guanidinated with O-methylisourea. The amino groups of all the lysine residues and those at the N-termini of the toxins were modified. The lethal activity of the toxins decreased to 50% (erabutoxins a and b) or 17% (erabutoxin c) of the original value on the modification. The c.d. (circular dichroism) max...

Streptomyces lividans acetylxylan esterase removes the 2- or 3-O-acetyl groups from methyl 2,4-di-O-acetyl- and 3,4-di-O-acetyl beta-D-xylopyranoside. When the free hydroxyl group was replaced with a hydrogen or fluorine, the rate of deacetylation was markedly reduced, but regioselectivity was not affected. The regioselectivity of deacetylation was found to be independent of the prevailing conf...

Two isoenzymes of N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (EC 3.2.1.30) (Hex A and Hex B) from human seminal plasma were purified to homogeneity with specific activities of 26 and 60 units/mg of protein respectively. N-Acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase activity was inseparable from N-acetyl-beta-D-galactosaminidase activity in both Hex A and Hex B by various conventional chromatographic procedures. Althoug...

The genetic relationships between the multiple variants of mucolipidosis II (I-cell disease) and mucolipidosis III (pseudo-Hurler polydystrophy) were investigated with a sensitive genetic complementation analysis procedure. These clinically distinct disorders have defects in the synthesis of a recognition marker necessary for the intracellular transport of acid hydrolases into lysosomes. Both d...

1. Michaelis constants for substrates of carnitine acetyltransferase have been shown to be independent of the concentration of second substrate present. This applies to the forward reaction between acetyl-l-carnitine and CoASH, and to the back reaction between l-carnitine and acetyl-CoA. 2. Product inhibition of both forward and back reactions has been studied. Evidence has been obtained for in...

Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase catalyzes the oxidative phosphorylation of acetaldehyde (1) and a number of other aliphatic aldehydes (2, 3) and also has a transacetylating activity (4). In the present paper the reactions of acetyl phosphate which characterize the transacetylating activity of the enzyme are presented. These reactions include (a) the phosphate exchange between acetyl ph...