No abstract

A new method for studying membrane transport is presented. High resolution n.m.r. is used to measure the distribution of small molecules between the intracellular and extracellular compartments. The method uses spin-echo techniques and relies on a difference in the magnetic susceptibility of the media inside and outside of cells. It also provides simultaneous information on the metabolic status of the cell. The method is illustrated by a study of alanine and lactate transport in the human erythrocyte.

No abstract

A method to determine the activity of dehydrogenases in an intact-cell system is described. The method involves the use of n.m.r. to monitor bulk isotope exchange. The approach is illustrated by application to the isotope equilibration of pyruvate and lactate as catalyzed by lactate dehydrogenase in intact erythrocytes. Particular problems peculiar to bulk isotope exchange and its observation by n.m.r. are considered.

The exchange of hydrogen and deuterium atoms between the C-2 position of lactate and solvent was monitored in suspensions of human erythrocytes by using a non-invasive spin-echo p.m.r. method that permits continuous assessment of the rate and the extent of exchange. Exchange rates were measured in cells suspended in buffers made in 2H2O and 1H2O after the addition of L-[2-1H]lactate and L-[2-2H]lactate respectively. The rate of exchange is dependent on the activities of four glycolytic enzymes (fructose bisphosphate aldolase, triose phosphate isomerase, glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase and lactate dehydrogenase) and on the concentrations of their substrates. The dependence of the exchange on the following substrates was studied: (1) lactate, (2) the triose phosphates and fructose 1,6-bisphosphate and (3) pyruvate. Observation of the exchange in vitro, in a system produced by mixing the isolated enzymes, permits determination of the individual isotope-exchange equilibrium velocities of the enzymes. The dependence of the equilibrium velocity of human erythrocyte lactate dehydrogenase on NAD+ + NADH concentration was measured. Possible applications of these methods are discussed.