Showing papers on "Vanadate published in 1988"

Characterization of the ATPase activity of the Mr 170,000 to 180,000 membrane glycoprotein (P-glycoprotein) associated with multidrug resistance in K562/ADM cells.

Abstract: The Mr 170,000 to 180,000 membrane glycoprotein associated with multidrug resistance (P-glycoprotein) is involved in drug transport mechanisms across the plasma membrane of multidrug-resistant cells. We have recently reported the purification of P-glycoprotein. The purified P-glycoprotein was found to have an ATPase activity, which might be coupled with the active efflux of anticancer drugs. In the present study, we have further studied the properties of the P-glycoprotein ATPase activity by an immobilized enzyme assay procedure using a P-glycoprotein-antibody-Protein A-Sepharose complex. GTP was also hydrolyzed by the P-glycoprotein, although less efficiently than ATP. The ATPase activity of P-glycoprotein had an optimal pH range around neutrality (pH 6.5–7.4). The detergent concentration of 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethyl-ammonio]-1-propane sulfonate used for protein solubilization was essential for enzyme recovery. Maximum activity was obtained when 0.1–0.2% 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethyl-ammonio]-propane sulfonate was used, while higher concentrations markedly inhibited the ATPase activity. The ATPase activity was dependent on Mg2+; maximum activity was obtained at 2–10 mm. Manganese and cobalt could substitute for magnesium as ionic cofactors. Divalent cations such as Ca2+, Zn2+, Ni2+, Cd2+, and Cu2+ inhibited the Mg2+-catalyzed ATP hydrolysis. N-Ethylmaleimide and vanadate inhibited the ATPase activity, while sodium azide or ouabain had no effect. Anticancer agents such as vincristine and Adriamycin did not affect the enzyme activity. In contrast, verapamil and trifluoperazine, agents which inhibit active drug efflux and restore drug sensitivity in resistant cells, caused an increase in the P-glycoprotein ATPase activity suggesting that P-glycoprotein might be the target molecule of these agents.

Long term improvement of glucose homeostasis by vanadate treatment in diabetic rats.

Abstract: The trace element vanadium (V) exerts insulin-like effects in vitro. The present study examined its effects on glucose homeostasis in rats made diabetic by streptozotocin. Na3VO4 (0.2 or 0.5 mg/ml) was administered ad libitum in drinking water. Fed plasma glucose levels (approximately 26 mmol/liter) fell by 30% and 56% after 5 days of treatment with the low (VO.2) and high (VO.5) concentrations of vanadate, respectively. This decrease was not due to a rise in peripheral insulin levels and persisted for more than 2 months. Daily glucosuria was decreased by 60% and 85% in VO.2 and VO.5 rats, respectively. Tolerance of the rats to oral or iv glucose was also considerably improved by vanadate; integrated glucose responses were about 55% and 75% lower in VO.2 and VO.5 rats than in controls, and the differences were not due to restoration of insulin release. Compared to nondiabetic rats, pancreatic insulin reserves amounted to 1% in untreated rats, 3% in VO.2 rats, and 6% in VO.5 rats after 9 weeks of treatment. Liver, but not muscle, glycogen was increased by vanadate. Despite improvement of their diabetic state, vanadate-treated rats did not gain more weight than untreated rats. Their food intake (corrected for urinary glucose losses) was decreased by about 25%. No signs of altered kidney or liver function were observed in rats receiving vanadate. In conclusion, vanadate markedly improves glucose homeostasis in streptozotocin-diabetic rats by an insulin-like mechanism, but does not reproduce the anabolic effects of the hormone.

Insulin-Like Effects of Vanadate in Isolated Rat Adipocytes*

Abstract: Vanadate has been shown to have a number of insulin-like effects in various cells, including isolated rat adipocytes. In the present study we compared the activities of vanadate and insulin in isolated fat cells using a number of different assays of insulin-like activity. Both insulin and vanadate stimulated [2-3H]glucose incorporation into fat cell lipid in a dose-dependent manner, but the maximal effect of vanadate was markedly greater than that of insulin. At 10(-2) M vanadate the effect was 3-4 times as great as the maximal effect of insulin. This effect was dependent on specific glucose transport. Combinations of insulin and vanadate were not more effective than vanadate alone. Vanadate also produced antilipolysis with an effect somewhat greater than that of insulin. Using [U-14C]glucose both vanadate and insulin stimulated 14CO2 production and [14C]glucose incorporation into lipid, and again the effect of vanadate was greater than that of insulin. Vanadate had a greater effect on 14CO2 production than on [14C]glucose incorporation into lipid. When [1-14C]glucose was used vanadate again had a significantly greater effect on 14CO2 production than did insulin, but when [6-14C]glucose was used the effects of vanadate and insulin were equal. These results demonstrate that vanadate has insulin-like effects in isolated fat cells, but it selectively stimulates certain pathways to a greater extent than does insulin. The greater effect of vanadate than insulin appears to be primarily on the pentose phosphate shunt, suggesting that this agent may be useful for examination of this intracellular pathway in fat cells.

Characterization by vanadium-51 solid-state NMR, laser Raman, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of vanadium species deposited on .gamma.-Al2O3

Abstract: By use of a fluidized bed technique, two series of V/sub 2/O/sub 5/-..gamma..-Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ samples have been prepared with a vanadate solution at pH 4 or 10. Considering that, for all the prepared samples, an equilibrium between the vanadate species in solution and those adsorbed on the alumina surface exists, the deposited vanadate species are well dispersed. They have been characterized by /sup 51/V solid-state NMR and laser Raman spectroscopy. It was concluded in particular that a strong interaction exists between the oxovanadate species and the support during the impregnation step. The structure of those adsorbed species depends on the pH of the impregnating solution; at pH 10 the major adsorbed species is in a distorted tetrahedral symmetry, whereas at pH 4 the adsorbed species is mainly a polyoxovanadate-like species with vanadium in a distorted octahedral environment. Hydration-dehydration reactions of the supported oxovanadium species have also been evidenced.

Plasmalemma redox activity and h extrusion: I. Activation of the h-pump by ferricyanide-induced potential depolarization and cytoplasm acidification.

Abstract: Ferricyanide reduction by Elodea densa leaves, in the dark, is associated with: (a) acidification of the medium; (b) decrease (about 0.2-0.3 units) of intracellular pH (measured in cell sap, cytoplasm, and vacuole); (c) depolarization of the transmembrane potential; (d) net efflux of K+ to the medium. Ferricyanide-induced acid secretion is markedly increased by the presence of fusicoccin (FC), and this effect is severely inhibited by the proton pump inhibitors erythrosine B and vanadate. In the presence of ferricyanide FC-induced H+ extrusion no longer requires the presence of K+ in the medium. The (ferricyanide reduced)/(H+ extruded) ratio varies from about 2, in the absence of FC, to about 1 when the toxin is present, and to more than 4, when ATP-driven H+ extrusion is inhibited by erythrosine B or by vanadate. Fusicoccin markedly reduces K+ release to the medium. The ratio (ferricyanide reduced)/(H+ extruded + K+ released) approaches unity under all of the three conditions considered. These results indicate that ferricyanide reduction depends on a plasmalemma system transporting only electrons to the extracellular acceptor, with consequent potential depolarization and cytoplasm acidification. Most of the protons released in the cytoplasm would be secondarily extruded by the ATP-driven pump, stimulated by both intracellular acidification and depolarization. K+ efflux would depend on potential depolarization.

Electron paramagnetic resonance studies on conformational states and metal ion exchange properties of vanadium bromoperoxidase

Abstract: An electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) study was carried out to examine structural aspects of vanadium-containing bromoperoxidase from the brown seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum. At high pH, the reduced form of bromoperoxidase showed an apparently axially symmetric EPR signal with 16 hyperfine lines. When the pH was lowered, a new EPR spectrum was formed. When EPR spectra of the reduced enzyme were recorded in the pH range from 4.2 to 8.4, it appeared that these changes were linked to a functional group with an apparent pK/sub a/ of about 5.4. In D/sub 2/O this value for the pK/sub a/ was 5.3. It is suggested that these effects arise from protonation of histidine or aspartate/glutamate residues near the metal ion. The values for the isotropic hyperfine coupling constant of the reduced enzyme at both high and low pH are also consistent with a ligand field containing nitrogen and/or oxygen donor atoms. When reduced bromoperoxidase was dissolved in D/sub 2/O or H/sub 2//sup 17/O instead of H/sub 2//sup 16/O, vanadium (IV) hyperfine line widths were markedly affected, demonstrating that water is a ligand of the metal ion. Together with previous work these findings suggest that vanadium (IV) is not involved in catalytic turnover andmore » confirm the model in which the vanadium (V) ion of the native enzyme only serves to bind both hydrogen peroxide and bromide. After excess vanadate was added to a homogeneous preparation of purified bromoperoxidase, the extent of vanadium bound to the protein increased from 0.5 to 1.1, with a concomitant enhancement of enzymic activity. Finally, it is demonstrated that both vanadate (VO/sub 4//sup 3 -/) and molybdate (MoO/sub 4//sup 2 -/) compete for the same site on apobromoperoxidase.« less

Ouabain-insensitive K-adenosine triphosphatase in distal nephron segments of the rabbit.

Abstract: An electrogenic H-ATpase sensitive to inhibition by N-ethyl-maleimide has been reported to be present in renal distal tubules. In contrast to another H-ATPase (gastric H-K-ATPase), the renal enzyme is not stimulated by K+ and is not inhibited by vanadate. However, our preliminary observations indicated that a K-stimulated ATPase (K-ATPase) sensitive to inhibition by vanadate is present in renal medullary collecting duct (MCD). To localize and further characterize this renal tubular K-ATPase, we measured K-ATPase activity in eight specific segments of the rabbit nephron. K-ATPase activity was the difference in ATPase activity in the presence and absence of KCl but in the presence of ouabain (to inhibit Na-K-ATPase). ATPase activity was determined by a fluorometric microassay in which ATP hydrolysis is coupled to the oxidation of NADH. There was a significant K-ATPase activity (expressed as pmol.min-1.mm-1) in the connecting tubule (CNT, 17.0 +/- 3.3), cortical collecting duct (CCD, 6.6 +/- 0.7), and MCD (8.8 +/- 1.7), but not in the proximal segments and the thick ascending limbs. The renal tubular K-ATPase was not only inhibited by vanadate but also by omeprazole and SCH 28080 (relatively specific inhibitors of gastric H-K-ATPase). It is concluded that K-ATPase present in the CNT, CCD, and MCD has some properties in common with gastric H-K-ATPase. However, the physiological role of K-ATPase in the distal nephron segments remains to be elucidated.

Inhibition of phosphatase and sulfatase by transition-state analogues.

Abstract: The inhibition constants for vanadate, chromate, molybdate, and tungstate have been determined with Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase, potato acid phosphatase, and Helix pomatia aryl sulfatase. Vanadate was a potent inhibitor of all three enzymes. Inhibition of both phosphatases followed the order WO4(2-) greater than MoO4(2-) greater than CrO4(2-). The Ki values for potato acid phosphatase were about 3 orders of magnitude lower than those for alkaline phosphatase. Aryl sulfatase followed the reverse order of inhibition by group VI oxyanions. Phenol enhanced inhibition of alkaline phosphatase by vanadate and chromate but did not affect inhibition of acid phosphatase. Phenol enhanced inhibition of aryl sulfatase by metal oxyanions in all cases following the order H2VO4- greater than CrO4(2-) greater than MoO4(2-) greater than WO4(2-), and N-acetyltyrosine ethyl ester enhanced inhibition of aryl sulfatase by H2VO4- and CrO4(2-) more strongly than did phenol. It is apparent that the effectiveness of metal oxyanions as inhibitors of phosphatases and sulfatases can be selectively enhanced in the presence of other solutes. The relevance of these observations to the effects of transition metal oxyanions on protein phosphatases in vivo is discussed.

Isolation and characterization of a specific endogenous Na+,K+-ATPase inhibitor from bovine adrenal

Abstract: In order to identify a specific endogenous Na+,K+-ATPase inhibitor which could possibly be related to salt-dependent hypertension, we looked for substances in the methanol extract of bovine whole adrenal which show all of the following properties: (i) inhibitory activity for Na+,K+-ATPase; (ii) competitive displacing activity against [3H]ouabain binding to the enzyme; (iii) inhibitory activity for 86Rb uptake into intact human erythrocytes; and (iv) cross-reactivity with sheep anti-digoxin-specific antibody. After stepwise fractionation of the methanol extract of bovine adrenal glands by chromatography on a C18 open column, a 0-15% acetonitrile fraction was fractionated by high-performance liquid chromatography on a Zorbax octadecylsilane column. One of the most active fractions in 0-15% acetonitrile was found to exhibit all of the four types of the activities. It was soluble in water and was distinct from various substances which have been known to inhibit Na+,K+-ATPase such as unsaturated free fatty acids, lysophosphatidylcholines, vanadate, dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acid, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, dopamine, lignan, ascorbic acid, etc. This substance was further purified by using an additional five steps of high-performance liquid chromatography with five different types of columns. Molecular mass was estimated as below 350 by fast atom bombardment mass spectroscopy and ultrafiltration. Heat treatment at 250 degrees C for 2 h and acid treatment with 6 N HCl at 115 degrees C for 21 h almost completely destroyed the inhibitory activity of the purified substance for Na+ pump activity. Additionally, alkaline treatment with 0.2 N NaOH at 23 degrees C for 2 h destroyed approximately 70% of the inhibitory activity, whereas boiling for 10 min and various enzyme digestion did not destroy the activity. The dose dependency for the four types of the activities for this substance paralleled those of ouabain, spanning 2 orders of magnitude in concentration range. The inhibitory potencies of the purified substance for Na+,K+-ATPase, Na+ pump, and ouabain binding activities were diminished with increasing K+ concentration, exhibiting a characteristic typical of cardiac glycosides. This substance had no effect on the Ca2+-ATPase activity or the Ca2+ loading rate into the vesicle prepared from skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum. These results strongly suggest that this water-soluble nonpeptidic Na+,K+-ATPase inhibitor may be a specific endogenous regulator for the ATPase.

Vanadate stimulates bone cell proliferation and bone collagen synthesis in vitro

Abstract: We recently proposed a hypothesis for the molecular mechanism of the osteogenic action of fluoride in which it stimulates osteoblast proliferation via the inhibition of an osteoblastic acid phosphatase-like phosphotyrosyl protein phosphatase activity. To test this hypothesis, we investigated whether orthovanadate, a known phosphotyrosyl protein phosphatase inhibitor, would mimic fluoride in the stimulation of bone cell proliferation and bone collagen synthesis in vitro. Orthovanadate inhibited the osteoblastic acid phosphatase activity and stimulated bone cell proliferation at the same low concentrations (i.e. 5-15 μM). At the mitogenic doses, orthovanadate also showed a dose-dependent increase in alkaline phosphatase (a marker of mature osteoblasts) in cultured calvarial cells and stimulated bone collagen synthesis, as measured by the incorporation of [3H]proline and the conversion into [3H] hydroxyproline in organ calvaria cultures. Therefore, orthovanadate stimulated bone formation by increasing the nu...

Vanadate and fluoride effects on Na+-K+-Cl- cotransport in squid giant axon.

Abstract: The effects of vanadate and fluoride on the Na+-K+-Cl- cotransporter of the squid giant axon were assessed. In axons not treated with these agents, intracellular dialysis with ATP-depleting fluids caused bumetanide-inhibitable 36Cl influx to fall with a half time of approximately 16 min. In the presence of either 40 microM vanadate or 5 mM fluoride, the decay of bumetanide-inhibitable 36Cl influx was significantly slowed; half time for vanadate-treated axons is 45 min and for fluoride-treated axons is 37 min. These agents are not exerting their effects on Na+-K+-Cl- cotransport by influencing the rate of ATP depletion of the axon, since they had no effect on the ATP hydrolysis rate of an optic ganglia homogenate. We therefore suggest that these data support the hypothesis that Na+-K+-Cl- cotransport in squid axons is regulated by a phosphorylation-dephosphorylation mechanism and that vanadate and fluoride reduce the rate of dephosphorylation by inhibiting a protein phosphatase.

Induction of angiogenesis in vitro by vanadate, an inhibitor of phosphotyrosine phosphatases

Abstract: We have previously shown that capillary endothelial cells grown on the surface of three-dimensional collagen gels can be induced to invade the underlying fibrillar matrix and to form capillary-like tubular structures in response to tumor-promoting phorbol esters or the angiogenic agent fibroblast growth factor (FGF). Since both phorbol esters and FGF stimulate phosphorylation of tyrosine residues, we treated endothelial cells with vanadate, an inhibitor of phosphotyrosine-specific phosphatases, to determine whether this agent could induce the expression of an angiogenic phenotype in these cells. We show here that vanadate stimulates endothelial cells to invade collagen matrices and to organize into characteristic tubules resembling those induced by FGF or phorbol esters. We have further observed that vanadate concomitantly stimulates endothelial cells to produce plasminogen activators (PAs), proteolytic enzymes which are induced by phorbol esters and FGF, and which have been implicated in the neovascular response; this stimulation can be accounted for by an increase in the levels of urokinase-type PA and tissue type PA mRNA. These results suggest a role for tyrosine phosphorylation in the regulation of the angiogenic phenotype in capillary endothelial cells.

The K+-translocating Kdp-ATPase from Escherichia coli: purification, enzymatic properties and production of complex- and subunit-specific antisera

Abstract: The Kdp system from Escherichia coli is a derepressible high-affinity K+-uptake ATPase. Its membrane-bound ATPase activity was approximately 50 mumol g-1 min-1. The Kdp-ATPase complex was purified from everted vesicles by solubilization with the nonionic detergent Aminoxid WS 35 followed by DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B chromatography at pH 7.5 and pH 6.4 and gel filtration on Fractogel TSK HW-65. The overall yield of activity was 6.5% and the purity at least 90%. The isolated KdpABC complex had a high affinity for its substrates K+ (Km app. = 10 microM) and Mg2+-ATP (Km = 80 microM) and a narrow substrate specificity. The ATPase activity was inhibited by vanadate (Ki = 1.5 microM), fluorescein isothiocyanate (Ki = 3.5 microM), N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (Ki = 60 microM) and N-ethylmaleimide (Ki = 0.1 mM). The purification protocol was likewise applicable to the isolation of a KdpA mutant ATPase which in contrast to the wild-type enzyme exhibited an increased Km value for K+ of 6 mM and a 10-fold lowered sensitivity for vanadate. Starting from the purified Kdp complex the single subunits were obtained by gel filtration on Bio-Gel P-100 in the presence of SDS. Both the native Kdp-ATPase and the SDS-denatured polypeptides were used to raise polyclonal antibodies. The specificity of the antisera was established by immunoblot analysis. In functional inhibition studies the anti-KdpABC and anti-KdpB sera impaired ATPase activity in the membrane-bound as well as in the purified state of the enzyme. In contrast, the anti-KdpC serum did not inhibit enzyme activity.

Spontaneous and reversible interaction of vanadium(V) oxyanions with amine derivatives

Abstract: The interaction between vanadate and tri- or tetradentate ethanolamine derivatives has been studied by using /sup 51/V NMR spectroscopy. The reactions occur spontaneously in aqueous solutions, at ambient temperatures and in the physiological pH range. In addition to one amine group and one hydroxyl group, the ethanolamine derivative should contain a third and/or fourth functionality that is an alcohol, a carboxylic acid, a phosphonium acid, or an amine. The reactions are highly dependent on pH, concentrations of monomeric vanadate, amine. The stability constants for the complexes are minimum orders of magnitude greater than those found for vanadate derivatives of corresponding ether derivatives, and the high stability is associated with the central nitrogen. Only one vanadium complex is formed in substantial amounts in the reaction of ethanolamine derivatives with vanadate, and that complex is mononuclear in vanadium. Several of the ethanolamine derivatives that form complexes are commonly used buffers in biological and biomedical studies in vitro. 22 refs., 10 figs., 7 tabs.

Insulin-Mimetic Effects of Vanadate in Primary Cultures of Rat Hepatocytes

Abstract: To evaluate possible mechanisms by which insulin inhibits hepatic apolipoprotein B (apoB) secretion, we incubated primary cultures of rat hepatocytes with sodium ort ho vanadate, a phosphotyrosine phosphatase inhibitor and insulin-mimetic agent. Vanadate (10 μM) and insulin (10 nM) inhibited the medium accumulation of apoB (secretion) by 21 and 37%, respectively, without increasing intracellular apoB. The effects of insulin and vanadate together were not additive. Both insulin and vanadate enhanced intracellular glycogen accumulation by 82 and 37%, respectively. Unlike insulin, vanadate, at a concentration that inhibited apoB secretion (10 μM), had no effect on intracellular lipogenesis, inhibited the secretion of newly synthesized hepatic proteins, and had a delayed onset and termination of action on inhibition of apoB secretion. At higher concentrations (40 and 80 μM), vanadate stimulated intracellular lipogenesis. In conclusion, our data indicate that vanadate mimics insulin action in hepatocytes with regard to the inhibition of medium accumulation of apoB. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that inhibition of apoB secretion may be secondary to an increase in phosphotyrosine content at its site of synthesis. The kinases responsible for this effect have not been identified. Several effects of vanadate, however, are different from those of insulin, suggesting a differential sensitivity to vanadate, a divergence of the signal transfer by insulin and vanadate at the insulin-receptor or postreceptor level, or both.

Characterization of a High‐Affinity Mg2+‐Independent Ca2+‐ATPase from Rat Brain Synaptosomal Membranes

Abstract: A high-affinity Mg2+-independent Ca2+-ATPase (Ca2+-ATPase) has been differentiated from the Mg2+-dependent, Ca2+-stimulated ATPase (Ca2+,Mg2+-ATPase) in rat brain synaptosomal membranes. Using ATP as a substrate, the K0.5 of Ca2+ for Ca2+-ATPase was found to be 1.33 microM with a Km for ATP of 19 microM and a Vmax of 33 nmol/mg/min. Using Ca-ATP as a substrate, the Km for Ca-ATP was found to be 0.22 microM. Unlike Ca2+,Mg2+-ATPase, Ca2+-ATPase was not inhibited by N-ethylmaleimide, trifluoperazine, lanthanum, zinc, or vanadate. La3+ and Zn2+, in contrast, stimulated the enzyme activity. Unlike Ca2+, Mg2+-ATPase activity, ATP-dependent Ca2+ uptake was negligible in the absence of added Mg2+, indicating that the Ca2+ transport into synaptosomal endoplasmic reticulum may not be a function of the Ca2+-ATPase described. Ca2+-ATPase activity was not stimulated by the monovalent cations Na+ or K+. Ca2+, Mg2+-ATPase demonstrated a substrate preference for ATP and ADP, but not GTP, whereas Ca2+-ATPase hydrolyzed ATP and GTP, and to a lesser extent ADP. The results presented here suggest the high-affinity Mg2+-independent Ca2+-ATPase may be a separate form from Ca2+,Mg2+-ATPase. The capacity of Mg2+-independent Ca2+-ATPase to hydrolyze GTP suggests this protein may be involved in GTP-dependent activities within the cell.

Cultured cell extracts support organelle movement on microtubules in vitro

Abstract: Directed movements of organelles have been observed in a variety of cultured cells. To study the regulation and molecular basis of intracellular organelle motility, we have prepared extracts from cultured chick embryo fibroblasts (CEF cells) which support the movement of membraneous organelles along microtubules. The velocity, frequency and characteristics of organelle movements in vitro were similar to those within intact cells. Organelles and extract-coated anionic beads moved predominantly (80%) toward the minus ends of microtubules that had been regrown from centrosomes, corresponding to retrograde translocation. Similar microtubule-dependent organelle movements were observed in extracts prepared from other cultured cells (African green monkey kidney and 3T3 cells). Organelle motility was ATP and microtubule dependent. The frequency of organelle movement was inhibited by acidic (pH less than 7) or alkaline (pH greater than 8) solutions, high ionic strength ([ KCl] = 0.1 M), and the chelation of free magnesium ions. Treatment of the extracts with adenylyl imidodiphosphate (AMP-PNP, 7 mM), sodium orthovanadate (vanadate; Na3VO4, 20 microM), or N-ethylmaleimide (NEM, 2 mM) blocked all organelle motility. The decoration of microtubules with organelles was observed in the presence of AMP-PNP or vanadate. Motility was not affected by cytochalasin D (2 microM) or cAMP (1 mM). Kinesin (Mr = 116,000), an anterograde microtubule-based motor, was partially purified from the CEF extract by microtubule affinity purification in the presence of AMP-PNP, and was able to drive the movement of microtubule on glass coverslips. A similar preparation made in the presence of vanadate contained a different subset of proteins and did not support motility. These results demonstrate that intracellular organelle motility can be reproduced in vitro and provide the basis for investigating the roles of individual molecular components involved in the organelle motor complex.

Vanadate raises fructose 2,6-bisphosphate concentrations and activates glycolysis in rat hepatocytes.

Abstract: In rat hepatocytes, vanadate increases fructose 2,6-bisphosphate (Fru-2,6-P2) in a time- and dose-dependent manner, and counteracts the decrease in this metabolite caused by glucagon, forskolin or exogenous cyclic AMP. Vanadate does not directly modify the activity of 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase, even though it can counteract the inactivation of this enzyme caused by glucagon. Furthermore, vanadate raises the yield of 3H2O from [3-3H]glucose, indicating that it increases the flux through 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase. Moreover, vanadate in hepatocytes incubated in the presence of glucose increases the production of both lactate and CO2. Therefore vanadate has insulin-like effects on the glycolytic pathway in rat hepatocytes. These results clearly contrast with our previous observation that vanadate exerts glycogenolytic non-insulin-like effects on glycogen synthase and phosphorylase.