bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Electron microscopy of negatively stained and freeze-etched high density lipoprotein-3 from human serum.
Authors: Ohtsuki M , Edelstein C , Sogard M , Scanu A M
Published: May 2006

High density lipoproteins of d = 1.12 to 1.21 g/ml from human serum (HDL3) were studied by electron microscopy with both negative staining and freeze-etching techniques. For the negatively stained specimens, a modified conventional transmission electron microscope as well as a scanning transmission electron microscope were used. The freeze-etched specimens were examined by a conventional transmission electron microscope. The diameter of HDL3 was found to be 105 +/- 4 A by freeze-etching and 94 +/- 6 A by negative staining. The surface of the HDL3 particles exhibited about 12 discrete domains, 28 +/- 3 A (freeze-etched) and 28 +/- 4 A (negatively stained) in diameter, of undefined chemical composition. Moreover, the freeze-etched specimens revealed an inner core 40 +/- 2 A in diameter, corresponding to estimated values reported previously. All information is consistent with the HDL3 model proposed by B. W. Shen, F. J. Kézdy, and A. M. Scanu [(1977) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 74, 837-841], with additional evidence for well-defined surface substructure. The consistency of the images obtained with the various electron microscopy techniques and the marked change in the appearance of the surface in the HDL3 preparations that were digested by phospholipase A2 (EC 3.1.1.4) support the validity of the interpretation.
Density-dependent regulation of growth of BSC-1 cells in cell culture: control of growth by serum factors.
Authors: Holley R W , Armour R , Baldwin J H , Brown K D , Yeh Y C
Published: May 2006

BSC-1 cells grow slowly, to high cell density, in medium with 0.1% calf serum. An increase in the serum concentration increases both the growth rate of the cells and the final cell density. The serum can be replaced to some extent by epidermal growth factor (EGF). Initiation of DNA synthesis in BSC-1 cells that have spread into a "wound" in a crowded cell layer requires the addition of a trace of serum or EGF, if the cells have previously been deprived of serum. The binding of 125I-labeled EGF to low-density and high-density BSC-1 cells has been studied. Binding is faster to low-density cells. Cells at low cell density also bind much more EGF per cell than cells at high cell density. The fraction of bound 125I-labeled EGF that is present on the cell surface as intact EGF is larger at low than at high cell density. The results indicate that the number of available EGF receptors per cell decreases drastically as the cell density increases. It is suggested that a decrease in the number of available EGF receptor sites per cell, and the accompanying decrease in sensitivity of the cells to EGF, contributes to density-dependent regulation of growth of these cells.
Domains involving nonrandom distribution of lipopolysaccharide in the outer membrane of Escherichia coli.
Authors: Leive L
Published: May 2006

The present data demonstrate that the outer membrane of Escherichia coli contains domains of lipopolysaccharide that do not intermix freely with each other. A strain of E. coli lacking galactose epimerase was grown with galactose, for varying periods of time, which permits formation of a long polysaccharide, and without galactose, which results in a short polysaccharide. Such cultures yielded outer membrane fragments that were heterogeneous in lipopolysaccharide composition, some containing more long- than short-chain lipopolysaccharide, and vice versa. The kinetics of formation of these fragments suggest that lipopolysaccharide initially enters the membrane at points from which it can diffuse but ultimately is organized into domains that do not mix with each other, at least when lipopolysaccharides or different composition are present in the same organism.
Inheritance of selected pathotoxin resistance in maize plants regenerated from cell cultures
Authors: Gengenbach B. G. , Green C. E. , Donovan C. M.
Published: May 2006

Texas male-sterile cytoplasm (
cms
-T) maize is susceptible to
Helminthosporium maydis
race T and its pathotoxin, whereas nonsterile cytoplasm maize is resistant. Callus cultures initiated from immature embryos of a
cms
-T genotype, BC
1
A188(T), were susceptible to the toxin and were capable of plant regeneration. Toxin-resistant cell lines were selected by a sublethal enrichment procedure in which
cms
-T callus was grown for several selection cycles (subculture transfers) in the presence of progressively higher concentrations of toxin. Periodically during the selection process, plants were regenerated from the
cms
-T cultures to determine their susceptibility or resistance to the toxin. Plants regenerated after four cycles of selection were male-sterile and toxin-susceptible as shown by leaf bioassays. All plants regenerated from cell lines isolated from the fifth selection cycle onward, however, were toxin-resistant and 52 of 65 were fully male-fertile. The remaining 13 “male-sterile” resistant plants did not shed pollen and did not resemble
cms
-T plants in tassel morphology. Some “male-sterile” plants produced anthers containing a small amount of starch-filled pollen, suggesting that the sterility of these 13 plants was not the result of the
cms
-T trait. Leaf bioassays on F
1
progeny from regenerated resistant plants indicated that resistance to the toxin was inherited only through the female. The male-fertility trait also was inherited only through the female. After inoculation with
H. maydis
race T spores, leaf lesion size for progeny from regenerated resistant plants coincided with their reaction to the toxin. This result indicated that plant resistance to the pathogen was closely correlated with the toxin resistance obtained through cell culture selection.
Development of electrophysiological and biochemical membrane properties during differentiation of embryonic skeletal muscle in culture.
Authors: Spector I , Prives J M
Published: May 2006

Newly fused chick myotubes undergo simultaneous and rapid changes in cell membrane properties during synchronous differentiation in culture. These changes are coordinately regulated and include increases in acetylcholine receptor, acetylcholinesterase, and resting potential, as well as the appearance of action potentials in discrete membrane areas upon stimulation. Subsequently, the acetylcholine receptor reaches maximal levels, whereas the development of electrical properties is marked by a further increase in resting potential, changes in the characteristics of the elicited action potential, and the recruitment of additional membrane areas for action potential generation. Maturation of electrical excitability, marked by the acquisition of the ability to fire repetitively and to conduct action potentials along the membrane, occurs well after resting potential has reached a maximum. During post-maturational development, myotubes exhibit spontaneous electrical and contractile activity, and levels of acetylcholine receptor accessible to externally applied 125I-labeled alpha-bungarotoxin decrease markedly. It is suggested that electrophysiological membrane maturation is autonomously regulated with no requirement for neuronal intervention and involves the coordinated biosynthesis of discrete membrane components and their subsequent organization in the myotube membrane.
Dependence of the rates of dissolution of the Fe
4
S
4
clusters of
Chromatium vinosum
high-potential iron protein and ferredoxin on cluster oxidation state
Authors: Maskiewicz Richard , Bruice Thomas C.
Published: May 2006

The influence of oxidation state on the pH dependence of the dissolution of the Fe
4
S
4
clusters of
Chromatium vinosum
ferredoxin and high-potential iron protein (HIPIP) has been studied. The first-order rate constants (
k
obs
) for dissolution of both the Fe
4
S
4
(S-Cys)
4
2-
and Fe
4
S
4
(S-Cys)
4
3-
clusters of the ferredoxin follow the same overall kinetic equation but with differing specific rate and equilibrium constants. The dependence of rate and equilibrium constants upon oxidation state may be rationalized on the basis of the accompanying change in electrostatic affinity of a cluster toward H
+
and HO
-
. A more drastic change in the pH dependence of the kinetics of dissolution of the Fe
4
S
4
cluster of the HIPIP accompanies its change in oxidation state. Whereas the values of
k
obs
for dissolution of HIPIP containing the Fe
4
S
4
(S-Cys)
4
2-
cluster are strictly second order to [H
+
] and [HO
-
], the pH dependence for dissolution of the HIPIP Fe
4
S
4
(S-Cys)
4
1-
cluster indicates a first-order dependence upon [H
+
], a second-order dependence upon [HO
-
], and a spontaneous or water rate. These reactivity differences may be related to changes in cluster charge density. Mechanisms of dissolution involve preequilibrium protonation at acidic pH and preequilibrium ligand exchange at basic pH.
Structure of cytochrome c555 of Chlorobium thiosulfatophilum: primitive low-potential cytochrome c.
Authors: Korszun Z R , Salemme F R
Published: May 2006

Cytochrome c555 is an 86-residue type c cytochrome derived from Chlorobium thiosulfatophilum, an obligately anaerobic green sulfur bacterium which is among the most primitive of living organisms. Here is presented a preliminary structural description of the cytochrome c555 molecule based on its crystallographic structure determination at 2.7-A resolution by multiple isomorphous replacement methods. This structure is of interest not only because of its evolutionary significance but also because the cytochrome c555 molecule possesses an unusually low physiologic oxidoreduction potential (Em,7 = +145 mV) compared with related members of the cytochrome c family. Consequently, determination of its structure may permit a direct assessment of the structural factors responsible for prosthetic group redox potential regulation in type c cytochromes.
A reducibility criterion for generalized principal series
Authors: Speh Birgit , Vogan David
Published: May 2006

We give necessary and sufficient conditions for the reducibility of representations of semisimple Lie groups induced from discrete series representations of parabolic subgroups, when the inducing parameters are nonsingular.
Production of a functional eukaryotic enzyme in Escherichia coli: cloning and expression of the yeast structural gene for imidazole-glycerolphosphate dehydratase (his3).
Authors: Struhl K , Davis R W
Published: May 2006

A cloned segment of yeast DNA containing the structural gene for imidazoleglycerolphosphate dehydratase (D-erythro-imidazoleglycerolphosphate hydro-lase, EC 4.2.1.19) is transcribed and translated in Escherichia coli with sufficient fidelity to produce functional enzyme. This segment of yeast DNA was isolated as a viable molecular hybrid of bacteriophage lambda (lambdagt-Sc2601) which complements a nonrevertible hisB auxotroph of E. coli lacking dehydratase activity. The equivalent segments of DNA cloned from two independent his3 mutants of yeast lacking IGP dehydratase activity do not complement the hisB auxotroph. The two nonfunctional his3 alleles cloned in bacteriophage lambda can be recombined in E. coli to generate a hybrid phage which complements the hisB auxotroph. The dehydratase activity produced in E. coli by the cloned segment of yeast DNA strongly resembles the activity found in yeast.
Characterization of a common precursor to corticotropin and beta-lipotropin: identification of beta-lipotropin peptides and their arrangement relative to corticotropin in the precursor synthesized in a cell-free system.
Authors: Roberts J L , Herbert E
Published: May 2006

Radioactive proteins synthesized in an mRNA-dependent reticulocyte cell-free system under the direction of mRNA from AtT-20/D-16v mouse cells were isolated by specific immunoprecipitation using antiserum to either alpha(1-24) corticotropin or beta-endorphin [beta(61-91) lipotropin]. Each immunoprecipitate was fractionated by sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and shown to contain only one labeled protein with an apparent molecular weight of 28,500. Tryptic peptide analysis of the Mr 28,500 corticotropin and beta-lipotropin molecules isolated from the gels demonstrated that the two proteins had the same lysine, methionine, and tryptophan peptides. Four tryptic peptides from the cell-free product exhibited the same electrophoretic and chromatographic mobilities as marker tryptic peptides from bovine beta-melanotropin and porcine beta-endorphin. The identification of these peptides was confirmed by amino acid composition studies with a variety of labeled amino acids. The beta-lipotropin tryptic peptides were also shown to be located carboxy terminal to the corticotropin tryptic peptides.
5'-Terminal sequences and coding region of late simian virus 40 mRNAs are derived from noncontiguous segments of the viral genome.
Authors: Lavi S , Groner Y
Published: May 2006

The region of the simian virus 40 genome complementary to the 5' end of the most abundant poly(A)-containing 19S and 16S mRNAs was mapped by hybridization of double-labeled RNA ([3H]methyl group and [14C]uridine) to specific DNA fragments. Chemical identification of methylated residues indicated that a common "leader" sequence adjacent to the 5' terminus of both 19S and 16S mRNA is transcribed from DNA sequences located between 0.67 and 0.76 map units. The estimated size of this "leader" RNA, which does not code for any known viral protein, is 170-200 nucleotides. Our results indicate that sequences complementary to the "leader" region and coding portion of 16S mRNA are located in separate parts of the simian virus 40 genome.
Transfer of ADP-ribose from NAD to choleragen: a subunit acts as catalyst and acceptor protein.
Authors: Trepel J B , Chuang D M , Neff N H
Published: May 2006

Choleragen selectively incorporates 3H from [3H]NAD labeled on the adenosine moiety and not 14C from [14C]NAD labeled on the nicotinamide moiety. This reaction does not require protein in addition to choleragen. Incorporation of isotope does not proceed at 4 degrees, requires dithiothreitol, is stable after extensive washing with cold trichloroacetic acid, and is decreased 80% by boiling in trichloroacetic acid. Studies with the A and B subunits of choleragen show that the A subunit catalyzes ADP-ribosylation and serves as an acceptor protein. The B subunit does not show catalytic or acceptor activity. We conclude that choleragen and its A subunit catalyze the hydrolysis of NAD and the enzymatic transfer of ADP-ribose to the A subunit.
Maize chloroplast DNA fragment encoding the large subunit of ribulosebisphosphate carboxylase
Authors: Coen Donald M. , Bedbrook John R. , Bogorad Lawrence , Rich Alexander
Published: May 2006

In vitro
linked transcription-translation of chloroplast DNA has been used to show that the large subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase [3-phospho-D-glycerate carboxy-lyase (dimerizing), EC 4.1.1.39] is encoded by
Zea mays
chloroplast DNA. A
Bam
HI-generated chloroplast DNA sequence cloned in
Escherichia coli
is shown to direct the
in vitro
synthesis of this protein identified as large subunit by its size, serological properties, and limited proteolytic digestion products.
Nucleotide sequence of 5' terminus of alfalfa mosaic virus RNA 4 leading into coat protein cistron.
Authors: Koper-Zwarthoff E C , Lockard R E , Alzner-deWeerd B , RajBhandary U L , Bol J F
Published: May 2006

The sequence of the 5'-terminal 74 nucleotides of alfalfa mosaic virus RNA 4, the mRNA for the viral coat protein, has been deduced by using various new techniques for labeling the RNA at the 5' end with 32P and for sequencing the 5'-32P-labeled RNA. The sequence is NpppGUUUUUAUUUUUAAUUUUCUUUCAAAUACUUCCAUCAUGAGUUCUUCACAAAAGAAAGCUGGUGGGAAAGCUGG. The AUG initiator codon is located 36 nucleotides in from the 5' end; the nucleotide sequence beyond corresponds to the amino acid sequence of the coat protein. This 5' noncoding region is rich in U (58% U); except for the 5'-terminal G, the next G in is part of the initiator AUG codon.
In vitro degradation of guanosine 5'-diphosphate, 3'-diphosphate.
Authors: Sy J
Published: May 2006

The degradation of guanosine 5'-diphosphate,3'-diphosphate (ppGpp) by the "crude" ribosomal fraction of Escherichia coli CP78 (rel+, spoT+) was demonstrated and characterized. When the 3'-pyrophosphoryl group of ppGpp was hydrolyzed, the primary degradation product was 5'-GDP. Phosphorylation of ppGpp to guanosine 5'-triphosphate,3'-diphosphate (pppGpp) prior to degradation was not necessary. The degradation process required Mn2+ and was inhibited by EDTA. Levallorphan, an inhibitor of in vivo ppGpp degradation, also inhibited ppGpp degradation by the crude ribosome. Thiostrepton and tetracycline did not have any inhibitory effect, indicating that the reaction is not a reversal of pyrophosphorylation catalyzed by the stringent factor/ribosome complex. Crude ribosome fractions from E. coli NF161 and NF162, both spoT-, contained little degrading activity, but similar fractions of E. coli CP79, a relA- and spoT+ strain, contained ppGpp degrading activity.
A pH-conditional mutant of Escherichia coli.
Authors: Colb M , Shapiro L
Published: May 2006

Mutants of Escherichia coli have been isolated that are able to grow on lactose at pH 7.0 but not at pH 8.1. One of these mutants was analyzed and shown to map in the Z region of the lactose operon. beta-Galactosidase (beta-D-galactoside galactohydrolase; EC 3.2.1.23) activity in toluenized mutant cells at pH 8.0 was one-tenth that at pH 7.0. Enzyme purified to near homogeneity from the pH-conditional mutant similarly exhibited pH-conditional activity under conditions where wild-type enzyme was unaffected over a pH range of 6.0-8.0. The pH-conditional beta-galactosidase was used in vivo as a probe for intracellular pH. We show that an internal pH of approximately 7.8-8.0 is maintained through an external pH range of 5.9-7.8. The phenotype of pH-conditional mutants was defined on medium with lactose as the sole carbon source. Under such conditions the gene product itself, beta-galactosidase, is required to maintain intracellular pH, since such maintenance is clearly energy-dependent. Therefore, we were able to recover a pH-conditional mutant in a cytoplasmic gene product. We predict that with any phenotype independent of energy production, however, pH-sensitive mutants will be recovered only in surface elements.
Endogenous New World primate retrovirus: interspecies antigenic determinants shared with the major structural protein of type-D RNA viruses of Old World monkeys.
Authors: Hino S , Tronick S R , Heberling R L , Kalter S S , Hellman A , Aaronson S A
Published: May 2006

A reverse transcriptase-containing virus has recently been isolated from a squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus). Molecular hybridization studies demonstrate that the squirrel monkey retrovirus (SMRV) is endogenous to this New World primate, yet lacks detectable nucleotide sequence homology with cellular DNAs of representative Old World primates or with the genomes of previously isolated Old World primate retroviruses. The 35,000-dalton major structural protein (p35) of SMRV was purified and shown to possess antigenic determinants distinct from those of known retroviruses. While SMRV was found to lack antigenic determinants broadly shared among mammalian type-C viruses, immunologic crossreactivity was demonstrated between SMRV p35 and the major structural protein (p26) of Mason-Pfizer monkey virus, a prototype type-D retrovirus of Old World monkeys. These findings support the concept that SMRV and Mason-Pfizer monkey virus are evolutionarily related, and raise the possibility that a progenitor of type-D retroviruses became genetically associated with primates at a very early time in their evolution.
Electron affinity of the methyl radical: Structures of CH
3
and CH
3
-
Authors: Marynick Dennis S. , Dixon David A.
Published: May 2006

Ab initio
self-consistent field and configuration interaction calculations are presented for the methyl radical and anion. The methyl radical is shown to be planar (D
3h
), while the anion is pyramidal (C
3v
). The methyl anion is unstable with respect to the limit of CH
3
plus an electron by 2-8 kcal/mole. Potential curves for the out-of-plane bending motions of both molecules are presented.
Identification of simian virus 40 tumor and U antigens.
Authors: Robb J A
Published: May 2006

The synthesis and identity of the tumor and U antigens of simian virus 40 (SV 40) have been examined during productive infection in monkey cells, abortive infection in mouse cells, and in SV40-transformed mouse cells by using sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide slab gel electrophoresis to analyze [35S]methionine-labeled radioimmune precipitates. The following observations were made: (i) the tumor and U antigenic sites are on the same 94,000, 89,000, and 84,000 molecular weight species detected during productive infection; a 94,000 species made during abortive infection; and a 94,000 species found in transformed cells. (ii) The 94,000 species is relatively unstable compared to the relatively stable 89,000 and 84,000 species produced during productive infection. (iii) The stable 89,000 and 84,000 molecular weight species are differentially extracted from productively infected cells, which suggests an intracellular compartmentation and/or different affinities of these species for cellular substrates. (iv) The 94,000 species synthesized during abortive infection is more stable than the comparable 94,000 species synthesized in transformed cells. (v) Three tsA group mutants overproduce several unstable species of tumor antigen at restrictive temperature.
Cell-free translation of simian virus 40 early messenger RNA coding for viral T-antigen.
Authors: Prives C , Gilboa E , Revel M , Winocour E
Published: May 2006

Simian virus 40 (SV40) mRNA was isolated by hybridization of cytoplasmic RNA, from SV40-infected BS-C-1 monkey cells early in lytic infection, to SV40 DNA immobilized on Sepharose. The early viral mRNA, when added to a wheat-germ translation system, directed the synthesis of a unique class of products including a 90,000 molecular weight (Mr) polypeptide. It was found that this 90,000 Mr product as well as a prominent 17,000 Mr polypeptide could be specifically immunoprecipitated with hamster antiserum to SV40 T-antigen, but not with hamster control serum. Similar immunoprecipitation of extracts of SV40-infected cells with hamster anti-T serum yielded 90,000 Mr and 17,000 Mr polypeptides; these polypeptides were not found in immunoprecipitates of uninfected cell extracts. SV40 cRNA, prepared by asymmetric transcription of plaque-purified SV40 DNA, directed the cell-free synthesis of several products, including a 70,000 Mr polypeptide that could be specifically immunoprecipitated with anti-T serum. However, no T-antigen-related polypeptide was found in infected cells that corresponded in size to the major immunoprecipitated cRNA product.
Virion-associated RNA polymerase required for bacteriophage N4 development.
Authors: Falco S C , Laan K V , Rothman-Denes L B
Published: May 2006

Escherichia coli phage N4 transcription is resistant to rifampicin, an inhibitor of the host RNA polymerase, even when the drug is added prior to infection. A rifampicin-resistant RNA polymerase has been detected in disrupted N4 virions. This enzyme shows a requirement for the four ribonucleoside 5'-triphosphates and exogenous denatured DNA. With denatured N4 DNA, the preferred template, transcription is asymmetric. The virion RNA polymerase apparently is necessary for phage development because a conditional lethal N4 mutant shows temperature-sensitive RNA synthesis in vivo as well as a temperature-sensitive RNA polymerase in disrupted virions.
A new method for sequencing DNA.
Authors: Maxam A M , Gilbert W
Published: May 2006

DNA can be sequenced by a chemical procedure that breaks a terminally labeled DNA molecule partially at each repetition of a base. The lengths of the labeled fragments then identify the positions of that base. We describe reactions that cleave DNA preferentially at guanines, at adenines, at cytosines and thymines equally, and at cytosines alone. When the products of these four reactions are resolved by size, by electrophoresis on a polyacrylamide gel, the DNA sequence can be read from the pattern of radioactive bands. The technique will permit sequencing of at least 100 bases from the point of labeling.
Role of surface modulating assemblies in growth control of normal and transformed fibroblasts.
Authors: McClain D A , D'Eustachio P , Edelman G M
Published: May 2006

Cellular microtubules, microfilaments, and surface receptors have been postulated to form a surface modulating assembly that regulates surface receptor mobility and cell growth. To test this hypothesis, we examined three agents known to affect cell growth [colchicine, concanavalin A (Con A), and the src gene product of Rous sarcoma virus] for their effects on chick embryo fibroblasts. Individual cells from serum-starved normal fibroblast populations became committed to enter S phase at various times over a 12 hr period after exposure to serum. Colchicine and other microtubule-disrupting agents blocked entry into S phase at a point close to the commitment point for each cell. The lectin Con A also blocked entry into the S phase when present in doses sufficient to modulate surface receptor mobility. In contrast, succinyl-Con A, which does not induce surface modulation, had no effect. Both Con A and colchicine blocked the appearance of cytoplasmic factors capable of stimulating DNA replication in a cell-free system. To study endogenous effects on the surface modulating assembly, we infected fibroblasts with a Rous sarcoma virus (tsNY68) having a temperature-sensitive mutation in the transforming (src) gene. We have previously shown that microtubular and microfilamentous structures of the surface modulating assembly are direct or indirect targets of the src gene product with consequent reduction in the capacity of Con A to induce surface modulation. TsNY68-infected fibroblasts shifted to the non-permissive temperature acquired normal microtubular morphology more rapidly (2 hr) than cells grown at the permissive temperature in the presence of protein synthesis inhibitors (7.5 hr). This suggests that the src gene product acts directly on the surface modulating assembly rather than via the nucleus or at the level of protein synthesis. Furthermore, "transformation" of the surface modulating assembly was partly blocked by treatment of the infected cells with Con A but not succinyl-Con A. Both Con A and colchicine inhibited entry into the S phase following a shift from nonpermissive to permissive growth conditions. All of these observations are in accord with the hypothesis that the surface modulating assembly acts as a signal regulator in growth control.
Suppression of production of mouse 28S ribosomal RNA in mouse-human hybrids segregating mouse chromosomes.
Authors: Croce C M , Talavera A , Basilico C , Miller O J
Published: May 2006

Mouse-human somatic cell hybrids that lose (segregate) human chromosomes produce only mouse 28S ribosomal RNA even when they retain copies of the human chromosomes that contain the genes for 28S ribosomal RNA. In contrast, mouse-human hybrid cells that segregate mouse chromosomes produce only human 28S ribosomal RNA even when they have retained copies of mouse chromosomes that contain the 28S ribosomal RNA genes.
Expression of antigenic crossreactivity to RD114 p 30 protein in a human fibrosarcoma cell line.
Authors: Smith H S , Riggs J L , Springer E L
Published: May 2006

An antigen crossreacting with the 30,000-molecular-weight protein (p30) of the feline endogenous oncornavirus (RD114) was detected in a well-characterized human fibrosarcoma cell line, HT1080, by indirect immunofluorescence. Three antisera against RD114 p30 gave similar positive results, while two antisera prepared against simian sarcoma virus p30, one antiserum prepared against murine leukemia virus p30, and one antiserum prepared against feline leukemia virus p30 gave no immunofluorescence. The reactivity observed with the antiserum against RD114 p30 was detected in 10-40% of the cells at early passages and was no longer expressed by the forty-first subculture. The reactivity could be removed by adsorption of the antiserum with RD114-infected dog or human cells, but not by uninfected cells or by cells infected with an antigenically unrelated oncornavirus, feline leukemia virus. Neither complete virus particles nor reverse transcriptase (RNA-dependent DNA nucleotidyltransferase) activity was detected in the culture. These experiments suggest that the fibrosarcoma cell line is expressing an antigen related to the p30 protein of RD114 baboon endogenous virus group of oncornaviruses without producing complete virions.
Growth of cultured cells from patients with Hodgkin's disease and transplantation into nude mice.
Authors: Zamecnik P C , Long J C
Published: May 2006

Long-term monolayer cell cultures have been prepared from tumor nodules in spleens removed from 28 patients with Hodgkin's disease and from 84 spleens that did not have tumors from Hodgkin's disease patients, normal adult spleens, and human fetal spleens and thymuses. After 5 to 20 serial passages in culture, cells from nine of the Hodgkin's disease monolayers underwent morphologic change in vitro with transition from a spindle and reticular pattern of replication to polygonal and round cells that propagated in mosaic arrays. Four of such Hodgkin's disease monolayer cell lines were injected subcutaneously into 43 nude, athymic mice. In 36 animals (84%), neoplasms developed at the inoculation site that werel ocally destructive, capable of pulmonary metastasis, and eventually fatal to the recipients. Transplanted tumors were not observed in 18 athymic mice injected with cultures prepared from normal human adult spleen and fetal spleen and thymus, nor were tumors seen in 16 similar animals that received fresh, noncultured Hodgkin's disease tumor tissue. On microscopic examination, xenografts derived from Hodgkin's disease cultures were pleomorphic malignant neoplasms composed of large, undifferentiated cells, resembling reticulum cell sarcoma. These neoplasms did not involve the lymphoreticular organs of mice. Chromosome studies indicated that the transplanted neoplasms were composed of human cells with an aneuploid karyotype and that monolayer cultures prepared from the heterotransplants contained a karyotype similar to that of the cultured cells prior to passage in mice. The ability of these Hodgkin's disease cell lines to produce invasive tumors with human karyotypes in nude mice is evidence of the neoplastic nature of the monolayer cells and their relationship to the malignant cell of the human disorder.
Purification and characterization of the DNA polymerase of human breast cancer particles.
Authors: Ohno T , Sweet R W , Dejak D , Spiegelman S
Published: May 2006

Previous studies have identified human breast tumor particles possessing many of the features characteristic of RNA tumor viruses. In addition to the expected size (600 S) and density (1.16 g/ml) these include possession of an outer membrane and an inner one surrounding a "core" containing a DNA polymerase and a large-molecular-weight (70S) RNA possessing detectable homology to the RNAs of the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) and of the Mason-Pfizer monkey virus (MPMV). We report here the purification and characterization of the DNA polymerase from the human breast cancer particles. Its key properties are very similar to those ofthe RNA-dependent DNA nucleotidyltransferase (reverse transcriptase) found in MMTV and MPMV. Thus like these viral enzymes, the purified human breast cancer DNA polymerase exhibits the following three features that together distinguish the known viral reverse transcriptases from normal cellular DNA polymerases: (i) a strong preference for oligo(dT)-poly(rA) over oligo(dT)-poly(dA) as a template for the synthesis of poly(dT); (ii) the acceptance of the highly specific oligo(dG)-poly(rCm) as a template for the formation of poly(dG); (iii) the ability to use a viral RNA (AMV) as a template to fashion a faithful DNA complementary copy; and (iv) its preference for Mg++ over Mn++. In summary, the data described here on the enzyme of the human breast cancer particles add further evidence of similarities to the viral agents associated with the corresponding malignancies in the mouse and monkey models. To date, an enzyme with these properties has not been detected in normal breast tissues or in benign tumors of the breast.
Human placental lactogen mRNA and its structural genes during pregnancy: quantitation with a complementary DNA.
Authors: McWilliams D , Callahan R C , Boime I
Published: May 2006

A complementary DNA (cDNA) strand was transcribed from human placental lactogen (hPL) mRNA. Based on alkaline sucrose gradient centrifugation, the size of the cDNA was about 8 S, which would represent at least 80% of the hPL mRNA. Previously we showed that four to five times more hPL was synthesized in cell-free extracts derived from term as compared to first trimester placentas. Hybridization of the cDNA with RNA derived from placental tissue revealed that there was about four times more hPL mRNA sequences in total RNA from term placenta than in a comparable quantity of total first trimester RNA. Only background hybridization was observed when the cDNA was incubated with RNA prepared from human kidney. To test if this differential accumulation of hPL mRNA was the result of an amplification of hPL genes, we hybridized the labeled cDNA with cellular DNA from first trimester and term placentas and with DNA isolated from human brain. In all cases, the amount of hPL sequences was approximately two copies per haploid genome. Thus, the enhanced synthesis of hPL mRNA appears to result from a transcriptional activation rather than an amplification of the hPL gene. The increase likely reflects placental differentiation in which the proportion of syncytial trophoblast increases at term.
Adhesive specificity of juvenile rat and chicken liver cells and membranes.
Authors: Obrink B , Kuhlenschmidt M S , Roseman S
Published: May 2006

Liver cells, isolated from either juvenile rats or chickens by a collagenase perfusion technique, reaggregated when maintained in suspension. The cells exhibited marked adhesive specificity; when suspensions contained both cell types, the aggregates consisted primarily of either rat or chicken cells. Adhesive specificity was also observed with plasma membrane fractions isolated from rat liver homogenates, and with comparable fractions from chicken liver. These membranes stimulated aggregation of the homologous but not the heterologous cell type. Other membrane fractions had little or no effect on the aggregation of the homologous cell type. These and other properties of the liver cell and membrane preparations suggest that biochemical studies on cell-cell recognition and adhesion can most effectively be conducted with cells from juvenile and adult animals.
Incorporation of N-acetylglucosamine into endogenous acceptors of rough microsomes from rat liver: stimulation by GTP after treatment with pyrophosphate.
Authors: Godelaine D , Beaufay H , Wibo M
Published: May 2006

Upon incubation of UDP-N-acetyl[14C]glucosamine and GDP-mannose with rough microsomes from rat liver, GlcNAc incorporation occurred mostly into acid-labile products extractable by chloroform/methanol that were presumed to be dolichol pyrophosphate GlcNAc and, for a small part, dolichol pyrophosphate N,N'-diacetylchitobiose. The production of this latter glycolipid was greatly enhanced when rough microsomes, previously treated with pyrophosphate, were incubated in the presence of GTP. Furthermore, under these particular conditions, high levels of radioactivity were obtained in products precipitated by trichloroacetic acid and not extracted by chloroform/methanol. The label appeared in acid-labile and in acid-resistant products, presumed to be dolichol pyrophosphate mannosylated oligosaccharides, and glycoproteins, respectively. From these results, dolichol pyrophosphate N,N'-diacetylchitobiose appears to be an obligate metabolic intermediate in protein glycosylation by this system. Whether or not dolichol pyrophosphate N,N'-diacetylchitobiose must be mannosylated prior to transfer of the N,N'-diacetylchitobiose moiety to protein is an open matter, because GlcNAc was also incorporated into acid-resistant products when the reaction was carried out in absence of GDP-mannose.
Receptor diffusion on cell surfaces modulated by locally bound concanavalin A.
Authors: Schlessinger J , Elson E L , Webb W W , Yahara I , Rutishauser U , Edelman G M
Published: May 2006

In order to test the anchorage modulation hypothesis, the fluorescence photobleaching recovery method was used to measure the global inhibition of cell surface receptor mobility induced in 3T3 mouse fibroblasts by local binding of platelets labeled with concanavalin A (Con A). By measuring the diffusion of antibody-labeled cell surface receptors at various points on the cell surface, two states, immobile and mobile, were distinguished in the receptor population. Bound Con A-platelets, occupying between 4% and 30% of the cell surface, decreased the diffusion coefficient of the mobile population by a factor of 6. The magnitude of this effect was independent of distance from the sites of the bound Con A-platelets, demonstrating the propagated and nonlocal properties of the modulation effect. The immobile fraction of the population was not changed by Con A-platelet binding. Modulation of the diffusion constant of mobile receptors was partially reversed by treatment with microtubule-disrupting agents such as Colcemid and Vinca alkaloids. High doses of soluble Con A induced even higher levels of modulation than Con A-platelets, but reversal by microtubule-disrupting drugs was observed. These experiments provide additional support for the anchorage modulation hypothesis and provide a measure of the nature and degree of mobility at the molecular level. They also put important constraints on the hypothesized interactions among submembranous components (microtubules and microfilaments) of surface modulating assemblies.
Dual origin of highly social behavior among bees.
Authors: Winston M L , Michener C D
Published: May 2006

A study of behavior and structure indicates that highly eusocial behavior arose twice in the bees--i.e., in the stingless bees (Meliponinae) and in the honeybees (Apinae). Morphological features demonstrate the distinctiveness of these two groups and the relationship of the latter to bumblebees (Bombini) and orchid bees (Euglossin). The social behaviors of the stingless bees and honeybees, while more or less equally elaborate, are so different as to support their independent origins. The primitive apids, along with the related Xylocopinae (in the Anthophoridae), appear to have had the potential for parasocial, subsocial, and primitively eusocial behavior and from such forms the two highly eusocial groups arose.
Bidirection replication from a unique origin in a mini-F plasmid.
Authors: Eichenlaub R , Figurski D , Helinski D R
Published: May 2006

Replicating molecules of the mini F-kanamycin resistance plasmid, pML31, derived from F'lac, have been isolated from Escherichia coli as covalently-closed circular DNA molecules. These molecules were examined in the electron microscope after digestion with either EcoRI or BamHI restriction endonuclease. The structure of the majority of the molecules replicating was consistent with a bidirectional mode of replication starting at a unique origin on the F-fragment. This origin is located approximately 2.3 kilobases from one of the EcoRI sites. Orientation of the F-fragment relative to the physical map of F showed the position of the origin to be at 42.6 kilobases. A small proportion of molecules appeared to be replicating unidirectionally in either direction from this origin. Termination of replication of pML31 apparently occurs in the fragment containing the locus for kanamycin resistance in a unique region opposite the origin in the circular DNA molecule.
Assignment of the major histocompatibility complex to a region of the short arm of human chromosome 6.
Authors: Francke U , Pellegrino M A
Published: May 2006

Interspecific cell hybrids containing defined parts of human chromosome 6 were used for regional mapping of gene loci previously assigned to chromosome 6: the human leukocyte antigens (HLA) region, phosphoglucomutase-3 (PGM3; alpha-D-glucose-1,6-bisphosphate:alpha-D-glucose-1-phosphate phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.5.1) and malic enzyme-1 [malic dehydrogenase(decarboxylating) (NADP+), L-malate:NADP+ oxidoreductase (oxaloacetate-decarboxylating), EC 1.1.1.40]. Human fibroblasts containing a balanced reciprocal translocation between the short arms of chromosome 1 and chromosome 6--designated t(1;6) (p3200;p2100)--were fused with an established line of Chinese hamster cells. Hybrid clones with segregating human chromosomes were studied for the presence of the translocation chromosomes 1T and 6T and their normal homologues 1 and 6. Six clones that had retained 1T, three clones with 6T, and three clones with 6 and 6T as controls, were analyzed by a microabsorption test for expression of the allelic antigens HLA-A2 and HLA-A3, both of which were present on the human parental cells. HLA-A2 segregated with the 1T translocation chromosome and HLA-A3 with the normal chromosome 6. Hybrid clones with 6T did not possess an HLA-A gene. In contrast, human PGM3 and malic enzyme-1 expression segregated with the 6T translocation chromosome. These results indicate the location of the major histocompatibility complex in region 6p2100 leads to 6pter of the short arm of chromosome 6. The genes for PGM2 and malic enzyme-1 map in region 6p2100 leads to 6qter. The HLA:PGM3 genetic map distance is 15 centimorgans in males, as established by family studies. This allows rather precise mapping of both loci because HLA is distal and PGM3 proximal to the translocation breakpoint in band 6p2100. The findings are consistent with earlier conclusions that HLA is proximal to 6p22. Quantitative correlation between the density of HLA antigens on the hybrid cell surface and the number of copies of the respective HLA gene-bearing chromosome suggests a gene dose effect for cell surface molecules, as it exists for intracellular gene products.
Proposed involvement of an internal promoter in regulation and synthesis of mitochondrial and cytoplasmic leucyl-tRNA synthetases of Neurospora.
Authors: Beauchamp P M , Horn E W , Gross S R
Published: May 2006

Genetic analysis of an electrophoretic variant of the mitochondrial leucyl-tRNA synthetase [L-leucine:tRNALeu ligase (AMP-forming), EC 6.1.1.4] indicates that it is either an allele of or linked closely to leu-5ts, a mutant that is known to produce a cytoplasmic leucyl-tRNA synthetase with an altered affinity for leucine as well as being deficient in the production of the mitochondrial enzyme. Immunological analysis indicates that the two synthetases have little, if any, structural homology. The pattern of synthesis of the enzymes in leu-5ts revertants, the reciprocal relationship of the production of the two enzymes in response to a negative regulatory element, presumably of mitochondrial origin, as well as the lack of detectable structural homology, led to the proposal that the phenotype of leu-5ts results from a mutational alteration in the structural gene for the cytoplasmic enzyme in a region involved in the initiation of transcription of the adjacent gene for the mitochondrial enzyme.
Magnification of genes coding for ribosomal RNA in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Authors: Kaback D B , Halvorson H O
Published: May 2006

When a strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae monosomic for chromosome I and initially deficient for 25% of the genes coding for ribosomal RNA is repeatedly subcultured, the number of these genes increases to and remains stable at the number in the wild type. This strain shows 2:2; viable: inviable first division segregation and hemizygosity for the ade1 gene (a chromosome I marker), evidence that the strain is still monosomic for chromosome I. The increase in the number of genes coding for ribosomal RNA in yeast may be analogous to the magnification of the ribosomal RNA genes in Drosophila melanogaster bobbed mutants.
Physical mapping of a DNA sequence common to plasmids of incompatibility group F I.
Authors: Palchaudhuri S , Maas W K
Published: May 2006

We have mapped a region of homology within a 2.2 kilobase segment of plasmids of incompatibility group F I, WHICH IS CONTAINED IN AN EcoRI restriction enzyme fragment bearing genes for autonomous replication; The coordinates of the 2.2 kilobase segment are 46.4F-48.6F on the physical map of the F plasmid. The orgin of vegetative replication has been mapped at 42.5F, at which site F has no sequence homology with other group F I plasmids. Plasmids belonging to other incompatibility groups have no homology with the 46.4-48.6 F segment. Possible mechanisms underlying incompatibility are discussed. We think that incompatibility is due to either a limitation in a common equipartitioning mechanism or a limitation in a common replication control. In either case, the common mechanism is specific for plasmids belonging to a given incompatibility group.
Heterogeneity of the cytotoxic response of thymus-derived lymphocytes after immunization with influenza viruses.
Authors: Doherty P C , Effros R B , Bennink J
Published: May 2006

Immunization of mice with serologically distinct type A influenza viruses results in development of highly crossreactive populations of cytotoxic thymus-derived lymphocytes (T cells). This can be shown both at the level of effector function and of priming for an enhanced response after challenge with another type A virus. Cytotoxic activity is demonstrable, in both the primary and secondary situations, only for H-2 compatible interactions. Further analysis by competitive inhibition experiments indicates that some of the T cell clones generated are specific for the virus used to immunize, while others are much less restricted. Secondary stimulation may result in preferential stimulation of the crossreactive T cells if the type A viruses used are very different serologically. When more closely related viruses are used, however, some degree of specificity is seen for the challenge virus. Even so, the patterns of crossreactivity observed are complex, and cannot be readily predicted on the basis of known serological relationships between surface hemagglutinin and neuraminidase antigens of type A influenza viruses.
Structure of human serum lipoproteins inferred from compositional analysis.
Authors: Shen B W , Scanu A M , Kézdy F J
Published: May 2006

Analysis of the correlations between size and chemical composition of lipoproteins of normolipidemic human plasma shows that the structure of all circulating lipoproteins is consistent with a spherical model of radius r in which a spherical liquid core of cholesterol esters and triglycerides of radius = r --20.2 A is surrounded by a monolayer of cholesterol and phospholipids with closely hydrophobic ends on the surface of the core. The average molecular areas at this inner surface are Spl = 68.5 A2/molecule for phospholipids and Sc= 39.1 A2/molecule for cholesterol. The proteins are closely packed with the hydrophilic head groups of phospholipids at the outer surface of the particle, with S' pl = 62.7 A2/molecule for phospholipids and Saa = 15.6 A2/amino acid for proteins. The polar head group of free cholesterol does not participate in the packing of the outer layer and thus must be masked by proteins. Free cholesterol is distributed among the circulating lipoproteins--with the exception of very high density lipoprotein and perhaps chylomicrons--according to a thermodynamic equilibrium governed by the curvature of the surface of the particle.
Crystallography of new ternary borides
Authors: Vandenberg J. M. , Matthias B. T.
Published: May 2006

The structure of new ternary rhodium borides has been determined. Isomorphism with the corresponding ternary cobalt borides is established.