title: Urea Output by L3 Teladorsagia circumcincta and some Properties of Two Urea Producing Enzymes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Like several other parasites, Teladorsagia circumcincta secretes or excretes urea, but neither the rate of efflux nor the possible metabolic sources of the urea has been considered.
  
  
  METHODS
  Parasites were maintained by passage through sheep. Urea efflux was measured using phenol/hypochlorite after treatment with urea aminohydrolase. The kinetics of creatine amidinohydrolase and arginine amidinohydrolase were characterised by coupling the reactions with urea aminohydrolase and glutamate dehydrogenase.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Infective L3 T. circumcincta secreted or excreted urea at 25% of the rate of NH3/NH4 (+). The rate of urea efflux was about 84 pmol h(-1) (10(3) larvae)(-1) over 4 hours, corresponding to about 11 nmol h(-1) mg(-1) protein. We could not detect urea aminohydrolase activity, but urea production by both creatine amidinohydrolase and arginine amidinohydrolase could be detected. The apparent K m and V max of creatine amidinohydrolase were 1.1 mM and 48 nmol h(-1) mg(-1) protein, respectively, and the activity was greatest at pH 8. The apparent K m and V max of arginine amidinohydrolase were 0.7 mM and 62 nmol h(-1) mg(-1) protein, respectively, and the activity was greatest at pH 7.9.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The activity of creatine amidinohydrolase and arginine amidinohydrolase was sufficient to account for the rate of urea secretion or excretion.
authors.affiliation: Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Royal College of Medicine Perak, 3 Greentown Road, 30450 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Muhamad
authors.forename: Lr
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: Dc
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Simcock
authors.forename: Kc
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pedley
authors.forename: Hv
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Simpson
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brown
keywords: Kinetics; Teladorsagia circumcincta; Urea