[Role of adenine mono- and dinucleotides in ammonia formation in brain tissue]

The investigations carried out have shown that not only AMP but ADP also undergoes direct deamination in both soluble and mitochondrial fractions of rat brain tissue. Deamination of AMP is stimulated by the addition of ATP and the activity of one of the isoenzymes of AMP-aminohydrolase is markedly enhanced by both yeast and brain hexokinase. Activation by hexokinase is mainly due to its SH groups, through which hexokinase reacts with AMP-aminohydrolase, forming, probably, a protein-protein complex in which AMP aminohydrolase activity is considerably increased. Hexokinase does not affect the deamination of ADP and NAD. Further experiments are needed to find out whether the activation of AMP-aminohydrolase is accomplished by hexokinase itself or by an other protein contaminating it. Deamination of NAD, in contrast to AMP and ADP, takes place only in mitochondria and does not occur in the soluble fraction. In mitochondria besides deamination, AMP and ADP undergo intensive dephosphorylation, while the deamination of NAD is not accompanied by an increase of phosphate, i. e. mitochondria lack enzymes which breakdown NAD to mono nucleotides. Our data indicate that the formation of deamino -NAD from NAD and reamination of deamino-NAD by aspartate to NAD by the formation of intermediary NAD-succinate is of greater importance. The formation of the latter and that of deamino-NAD from NAD as well as the presence of preformed deamino-NAD in mitochondria have been demonstrated by Movsessian. The occurrence of these processes in mitochondria and their role in the formation of ammonia from amino acids is of importance in as much as oxaloacetate formation and its conversion to aspartate, which is necessary for the reamination of deamino-NAD, are localized in mitochondria. The main source of the amino nitrogen of aspartate is known to be glutamate, which incorporates the amino nitrogen of most amino acids. alpha-Keto-glutarate, which is necessary for the synthesis of glutamate, is also formed in mitochondria are the most favourable site for the formation of ammonia from amino acids with the participation of pyridine nucleotides. Of the purine mono and dinucleotides studied deamino-NAD is most effective in the formation of ammonia from amino acids in mitochondria since in contrast to purine mono nucleotides, deamino-NAD and NAD are not dephosphorylated in mitochondria. According to some authors the reamination of IMP by aspartate is of importance in the formation of ammonia from amino acids in brain tissue. In our studies, however, IMP was not effective in the formation of ammonia from aspartate in mitochondrial fractions. IDP was found to be more effective. IMP and IDP may probably participate in the formation of ammonia in the soluble fraction, where nucleotidase activity is considerably low.