bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Phylogenetically conserved antigen on nerve cells and lymphocytes resembles myelin-associated glycoprotein.
Authors: Peault B , Chen C L , Cooper M D , Barbu M , Lipinski M , Le Douarin N M
Published: May 2006

The HNK-1 (Leu 7) and NC-1 monoclonal antibodies, raised against a human T-cell line and against nerve cells of quail embryos, respectively, have been shown to bind to a shared epitope present on the surface of human large granular lymphocytes and on nerve cells in species ranging from amphibians to humans. We demonstrate that a related antigen is also expressed on the lymphocyte surface in the avian central lymphoid organs, thymus and bursa, and in the spleen during embryonic and adult life. The expression of the HNK-1/NC-1-reactive determinant differs remarkably in the bursal and thymic compartments, antigen expression being stabilized at a high level early in development of the bursa, whereas its expression fluctuates in the thymus. The material immunoprecipitated from bursal and thymic lymphocytes by the HNK-1/NC-1 antibodies exhibits the same relative molecular mass as myelin-associated glycoprotein, which is one of the molecules recognized by these antibodies in the nervous system. Together with the observation that an antiserum reactive with the protein part of chicken myelin-associated glycoprotein detects similar material in membrane extracts of HNK-1/NC-1-positive thymocytes, this suggests that a molecule sharing structural analogies with this nerve cell component is expressed on cells of the immune system.
Epitopes of proteoglycans eliciting an anti-proteoglycan response in chronic immune synovitis.
Authors: Yoo J U , Kresina T F , Malemud C J , Goldberg V M
Published: May 2006

This study details the immune response to cartilage proteoglycan in experimental chronic IgG-induced immune synovitis. Antibodies reactive with purified rabbit proteoglycan monomer were observed in nine of nine rabbits with immune synovitis. IgG-immunized but nonsynovitic control animals with no pathology showed no antibody response. A panel of murine monoclonal antibodies with defined specificity towards rabbit proteoglycan were utilized to characterize the epitope specificity of the immune synovitis polyclonal anti-proteoglycan response. One murine monoclonal antibody, 6C11, inhibited the binding of the polyclonal antisera to proteoglycan in all nine animals with significant (greater than 40%) inhibition in six of nine rabbits. Further inhibition studies utilizing DEAE-cellulose-resolved proteoglycan tryptic peptides revealed that peptides poor in chondroitin sulfate were strong inhibitors of binding of the polyclonal antibodies to the proteoglycan substrate. In particular, keratan sulfate-containing tryptic peptides were most inhibitory on a per weight basis. These results indicate that, in chronic IgG-induced immune synovitis, anti-proteoglycan antibodies elicited are heterogeneous with regard to specificity, but a relatively large proportion predominantly recognized a portion of the proteoglycan molecule containing core protein and associated keratan sulfate.
Expression of the hepatitis B virus genome in chronic hepatitis B carriers and patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.
Authors: Bowyer S M , Dusheiko G M , Schoub B D , Kew M C
Published: May 2006

We examined the methylation status of CCGG sites in hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA to determine whether methylation could be responsible for the selective expression of the HBV surface gene in chronic hepatitis B infection and hepatocellular carcinoma. Infected liver tissue from patients with low levels of viral replication was analyzed for HBV DNA copy number per haploid cell genome. Total cellular DNA, with sufficient HBV DNA, was digested with the restriction endonucleases Msp I and Hpa II, to determine whether the HBV DNA was methylated, or HindIII, to determine whether the HBV DNA was integrated or episomal. The cleavage fragments were analyzed by Southern blotting and hybridization to 32P-labeled HBV DNA. In replicative chronic hepatitis B, hypomethylation of the HBV genome correlated with HBV expression in both virions and infected tissue. In carriers with nonreplicative infection, it was difficult to ascertain the role of methylation as copy number was low. HBV DNA copy number was also low in 17 out of 29 of the tumor tissues tested and as many as 14 out of 16 of the adjacent non-neoplastic tissues tested. Integrated sequences were hypermethylated in the PLC/PRF/5 cell line and in six of the tumor tissues suggesting that methylation plays a role in HBV gene repression. However, since DNA from five other tumors was hypomethylated, the belief that methylation per se is an absolute determinant of HBV core gene repression does not hold for human hepatocellular carcinoma tissue. Additional factors, such as gene rearrangements, therefore, must influence HBV expression in hepatocellular carcinoma.
Identification of a cDNA coding for a fifth form of myelin basic protein in mouse.
Authors: Newman S , Kitamura K , Campagnoni A T
Published: May 2006

The primary sequences of four molecular mass variants (14, 17, 18.5, and 21.5 kDa) of the mouse myelin basic protein (MBP) have recently been determined through analysis of cDNA clones of their mRNAs. The mRNAs coding for the four MBP variants are thought to arise by differential splicing of two exons (exons 2 and 6) from a single gene. In contrast, exons 2 and 5 may be spliced out in the posttranscriptional processing of the human MBP gene. To investigate the possibility that a third exon (exon 5) may also be differentially spliced out in the processing of the mouse MBP gene transcript, a mouse cDNA library was screened to search for cDNAs missing exon 5. A MBP cDNA was isolated whose coding region specified a fifth mouse MBP variant with a molecular mass of approximately equal to 17 kDa. The mass of this variant (17,257 Da) is so close to that of the other 17-kDa mouse MBP (17,224 Da) that the two would be indistinguishable on NaDodSO4/polyacrylamide gels. Analysis of the sequence of the cDNA clone indicates that excision of exons 2 and 5 of the mouse MBP gene would produce the mRNA encoding this newly described 17-kDa MBP, whereas excision of exon 6 would produce the mRNA for the other 17-kDa MBP variant. Thus, the "17-kDa" mouse MBP consists of at least two molecular forms with very similar molecular masses but markedly different primary sequences. Of five full-length or near full-length cDNAs representing 17-kDa MBPs, one was missing exons 2 and 5 and four were missing exon 6.
Centrosomal proteins and lactate dehydrogenase possess a common epitope in human cell lines.
Authors: Gosti F , Marty M C , Courvalin J C , Maunoury R , Bornens M
Published: May 2006

A spontaneously arising rabbit anti-centrosome serum with strong human specificity, used to identify specific antigens in isolated centrosomes, was shown to react with several noncentrosomal proteins including a 36-kDa protein that appeared to be the major cellular antigen. To explore the immunological relationship between noncentrosomal and centrosomal antigens, immunoglobulins were affinity purified using the individual noncentrosomal antigens (from lymphoblastoma KE37 cells) and were tested for their capacity to bind to human centrosomes in situ and to proteins from isolated centrosomes. In this way, the 36-kDa antigen, an abundant cytosolic protein, was shown to share at least one antigenic determinant with high molecular weight centrosomal proteins. This antigen was further identified by mild proteolysis as the glycolytic enzyme lactate dehydrogenase. In all the analyzed human cell lines, the centrosomal staining in situ was correlated with a strong labeling of purified lactate dehydrogenase in immunoblots. Conversely, the absence of centrosomal staining in rodent cells was always correlated with the absence of lactate dehydrogenase labeling. These data suggest an evolutionary relationship between centrosomal proteins and this "housekeeping" enzyme.
Chelation of intracellular calcium blocks insulin action in the adipocyte.
Authors: Pershadsingh H A , Shade D L , Delfert D M , McDonald J M
Published: May 2006

The hypothesis that intracellular Ca2+ is an essential component of the intracellular mechanism of insulin action in the adipocyte was evaluated. Cells were loaded with the Ca2+ chelator quin-2, by preincubating them with quin-2 AM, the tetrakis(acetoxymethyl) ester of quin-2. Quin-2 loading inhibited insulin-stimulated glucose transport (IC50, 26 microM quin-2 AM) without affecting basal activity. The ability of insulin to stimulate glucose uptake in quin-2-loaded cells could be partially restored by preincubating cells with buffer supplemented with 1.2 mM CaCl2 and the Ca2+ ionophore A23187. These conditions had no effect on basal activity and omission of CaCl2 from the buffer prevented the restoration of insulin-stimulated glucose uptake by A23187. Quin-2 loading also inhibited insulin-stimulated glucose oxidation (IC50, 11 microM quin-2 AM) and the ability of insulin to inhibit cAMP-stimulated lipolysis (IC50, 78 microM quin-2 AM), without affecting their basal activities. Incubation of cells with 100 microM quin-2 or quin-2 AM had no effect on intracellular ATP concentration or the specific binding of 125I-labeled insulin to adipocytes. These findings suggest that intracellular Ca2+ is an essential component in the coupling of the insulin-activated receptor complex to cellular physiological/metabolic machinery. Furthermore, differing quin-2 AM dose-response profiles suggest the presence of dual Ca2+-dependent pathways in the adipocyte. One involves insulin stimulation of glucose transport and oxidation, whereas the other involves the antilipolytic action of insulin.
Isolation of cDNA clones encoding protein kinase C: evidence for a protein kinase C-related gene family.
Authors: Housey G M , O'Brian C A , Johnson M D , Kirschmeier P , Weinstein I B
Published: May 2006

We have isolated cDNA clones encoding protein kinase C by using a 53-base-pair synthetic oligonucleotide probe corresponding to a peptide that we obtained from the rat brain enzyme. We also have isolated several closely related clones using the same oligonucleotide probe. Nucleotide sequence analysis of one of the protein kinase C clones, RP41, identifies a 224-amino-acid carboxyl-terminal region with approximately equal to 40% homology to the carboxyl-terminal catalytic domains of both the cAMP-dependent and cGMP-dependent protein kinases. The levels of mRNA homologous to RP41 are very high in brain, whereas much lower levels are present in heart and liver. Nucleotide sequence analysis of a second cDNA clone, RP16, identifies a deduced amino acid sequence that shares 65% homology with the corresponding region of the protein kinase C clone RP41. The levels of mRNA corresponding to RP16 are also high in rat brain, but the transcript sizes and tissue-specific expression patterns differ from those of RP41. These and additional results provide evidence that the gene encoding protein kinase C is a member of a novel serine/threonine protein kinase multigene family.
Homologous subfamilies of human alphoid repetitive DNA on different nucleolus organizing chromosomes.
Authors: Jørgensen A L , Bostock C J , Bak A L
Published: May 2006

The organization of alphoid repeated sequences on human nucleolus-organizing (NOR) chromosomes 13, 21, and 22 has been investigated. Analysis of hybridization of alphoid DNA probes to Southern transfers of restriction enzyme-digested DNA fragments from hybrid cells containing single human chromosomes shows that chromosomes 13 and 21 share one subfamily of alphoid repeats, whereas a different subfamily may be held in common by chromosomes 13 and 22. The sequences of cloned 680-base-pair EcoRI fragments of the alphoid DNA from chromosomes 13 and 21 show that the basic unit of this subfamily is indistinguishable on each chromosome. The sequence of cloned 1020-base-pair Xba I fragments from chromosome 22 is related to, but distinguishable from, that of the 680-base-pair EcoRI alphoid subfamily of chromosomes 13 and 21. These results suggest that, at some point after they originated and were homogenized, different subfamilies of alphoid sequences must have exchanged between chromosomes 13 and 21 and separately between chromosomes 13 and 22.
V kappa and J kappa gene segments of A/J Ars-A antibodies: somatic recombination generates the essential arginine at the junction of the variable and joining regions.
Authors: Sanz I , Capra J D
Published: May 2006

The germ-line elements for the variable (V) and joining (J) regions of the kappa chains (V kappa-Ars, J kappa 1) that give rise to the productive allele for the A/J mouse light chains of Ars-A monoclonal antibodies (directed against the hapten p-azophenylarsonate) have been cloned and sequenced as well as a rearranged Ars-A light chain gene. Using the V kappa-Ars gene as a hybridization probe, we provide evidence that the V kappa 10 family is relatively small and that only one member gives rise to the productive allele in all Ars-A antibodies. An unusual feature of Ars-A light chains is that all contain an arginine at position 96, the V-J junctional position. We had shown by chain recombination that arginine-96 was essential for antigen binding. In the present study, an arginine codon was not found either at the 3' end of the V kappa-Ars gene segment or at the 5' end of J kappa 1. However, an arginine codon (CGG) can easily be generated by recombination between these two germ-line elements. Thus, we document that junctional diversity through intracodonic recombination can be crucial to the antibody binding function of the resulting molecule.
Peripheral nerve injury in developing rats reorganizes representation pattern in motor cortex.
Authors: Donoghue J P , Sanes J N
Published: May 2006

We investigated the effect of neonatal nerve lesions on cerebral motor cortex organization by comparing the cortical motor representation of normal adult rats with adult rats that had one forelimb removed on the day of birth. Mapping of cerebral neocortex with electrical stimulation revealed an altered relationship between the motor cortex and the remaining muscles. Whereas distal forelimb movements are normally elicited at the lowest threshold in the motor cortex forelimb area, the same stimuli activated shoulder and trunk muscles in experimental animals. In addition, an expanded cortical representation of intact body parts was present and there was an absence of a distinct portion of motor cortex. These data demonstrate that representation patterns in motor cortex can be altered by peripheral nerve injury during development.
Specificity and efficiency of editing of mismatches involved in the formation of base-substitution mutations by the 3'----5' exonuclease activity of phage T4 DNA polymerase.
Authors: Sinha N K
Published: May 2006

The specificity and efficiency of base-mispair editing by the 3'----5' exonuclease activity of phage T4 DNA polymerase has been measured using a sensitive infectivity assay. A series of oligodeoxynucleotide primer chains was synthesized chemically. These primers, when hybridized to phi X174 single-stranded DNAs containing an amber codon, result in a mispaired nucleotide at the 3'-hydroxyl end of the primer chain within the amber codon. DNA synthesis on these primer X templates without the removal of the mispaired terminal nucleotide results in the formation of heteroduplex molecules that yield viable revertants upon transfection into an amber nonsuppressor host. This method permits determination of the efficiency of editing of a mismatch to 1 in 10(6) mismatches that escape editing and allows all eight mispairs that can yield viable revertants at an amber codon to be studied. The results of experiments with primers hybridizing to phi X174 am16 and am3 codons show that the order of mispair editing by T4 DNA polymerase is Ttemplate X Gprimer less than (A X G, T X C) less than (T X T, G X A, G X G, A X C) less than A X A. The efficiency of editing depends upon the mispair, as well as the neighboring DNA sequence. Under these conditions of synthesis, the 3'----5' exonuclease activity, depending upon the mispair and DNA sequences beyond the nearest neighbors, is estimated to contribute a factor of from 2.3 X 10(3)- to greater than 10(6)-fold to the accuracy of T4 DNA polymerase.
Sequence analysis of carcinoembryonic antigen: identification of glycosylation sites and homology with the immunoglobulin supergene family.
Authors: Paxton R J , Mooser G , Pande H , Lee T D , Shively J E
Published: May 2006

A direct method for the determination of N-linked glycosylation sites in highly glycosylated proteins is described. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and a nonspecific crossreacting antigen (NCA) were chemically deglycosylated, and peptide maps were prepared by reverse-phase HPLC. The peptides were sequenced on a gas-phase microsequencer, and glycosylation sites were identified as the phenylthiohydantoin derivative of N-acetylglucosaminylasparagine. The sequences were confirmed by fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry. Highly homologous, extended amino-terminal sequences were determined for CEA and two NCAs, NCA-95 and NCA-55. Cysteine-containing sequences for CEA and NCA-95 show up to 95% sequence homology, and the CEA sequences also show internal sequence homologies. A comparison of the CEA sequences with known protein sequences suggests that CEA may be a member of the immunoglobulin supergene family. The protein sequence data have been used to identify a genomic DNA clone for one of the NCA antigens [Thompson, J., Pande, H., Paxton, R. J., Shively, L., Padma, A., Simmer, R. L., Todd, C. W., Riggs, A. D. & Shively, J. E. (1987) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, in press] and a cDNA clone for CEA [Zimmermann, W., Ortlieb, B., Friedrich, R. & von Kleist, S. (1987) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, in press].
Sequence of the cDNA encoding the laminin B1 chain reveals a multidomain protein containing cysteine-rich repeats.
Authors: Sasaki M , Kato S , Kohno K , Martin G R , Yamada Y
Published: May 2006

Laminin is a basement membrane-specific glycoprotein (800 kDa) consisting of three chains: A, B1, and B2. Laminin has diverse biological functions, which include stimulating epithelial cell growth and differentiation. We have isolated two overlapping cDNA clones that span 5.9 kilobases and code for the entire B1 chain of mouse laminin. The nucleotide sequence of the clones reveals a 5358-base pair open reading frame that potentially codes for 1786 amino acids, including 20 amino acids of a presumptive signal peptide. Analysis of the deduced protein sequence predicts that the B1 chain has seven distinct domains that include cysteine-rich repeats, alpha-helical, and globular structures. Part of the cysteine-rich region is homologous to epidermal growth factor and other proteins that contain epidermal growth factor-like repeats.
Lateral diffusion of lipids in membranes by pulse saturation recovery electron spin resonance.
Authors: Yin J J , Pasenkiewicz-Gierula M , Hyde J S
Published: May 2006

Short-pulse saturation recovery electron spin resonance methods have been used to measure lateral diffusion of nitroxide-labeled lipids in multilamellar liposomal dispersions. Nitroxides with 14N and 15N isotopes introduced both separately and together were used. Differential equations have been written and solved for complex saturation recovery signals involving several superimposed exponentials. The time constants contain various combinations of the spin-lattice relaxation time (T1e) for both isotopes, Heisenberg exchange rates, and nuclear spin-lattice relaxation times (T1n). Signals of high quality were fitted by Monte Carlo variation of the amplitudes and time constants. The reliability of the approach was tested extensively by verifying that (i) the predicted number of exponentials agreed with the experimental number, (ii) relaxation parameters that were determined were independent of the observed hyperfine transition, (iii) the time constants were independent of saturating pulse length, (iv) T1e and T1n do not change when Heisenberg exchange is changed by varying the concentration, and (v) Heisenberg exchange is indeed proportional to the concentration. It has been established that bimolecular collision rates over a wide range of conditions can be reliably measured using the methodology described here. The methods depend on the favorable match of bimolecular collision rates at micromolar concentrations to nitroxide spin-lattice relaxation probabilities.
A method for the rapid assignment of 1H NMR spectra of oligosaccharides using homonuclear Hartmann-Hahn spectroscopy.
Authors: Homans S W , Dwek R A , Boyd J , Soffe N , Rademacher T W
Published: May 2006

An NMR method is described, based on coherence transfer in the rotating frame, which allows for the rapid determination of proton resonance assignments in oligosaccharides. The composite one-dimensional spectrum of the oligosaccharide is decomposed into a subset of spectra that are derived from individual monosaccharide residues. Proton resonance assignments can be obtained from these subspectra by inspection of the multiplicities of the component resonances and by spectral simulation. The method is shown to have particular value in the assignment of proton resonances derived from primary sequence branch-point residues, which often have complex spin-coupling patterns. Other advantages of this method over conventional techniques are discussed.
Regulation of c-myc and c-fos mRNA levels by polyomavirus: distinct roles for the capsid protein VP1 and the viral early proteins.
Authors: Zullo J , Stiles C D , Garcea R L
Published: May 2006

The levels of c-myc, c-fos, and JE mRNAs accumulate in a biphasic pattern following infection of quiescent BALB/c 3T3 mouse cells with polyomavirus. Maximal levels of c-myc and c-fos mRNAs were seen within 1 hr and were nearly undetectable at 6 hr after infection. At 12 hr after infection mRNA levels were again maximal and remained elevated thereafter. Empty virions (capsids) and recombinant VP1 protein, purified from Escherichia coli, induced the early but not the late phase of mRNA accumulation. Virions, capsids, and recombinant VP1 protein stimulated [3H]thymidine nuclear labeling and c-myc mRNA accumulation in a dose-responsive manner paralleling their affinity for the cell receptor for polyoma. The second phase of mRNA accumulation is regulated by the viral early gene products, as shown by polyomavirus early gene mutants and by a transfected cell line (336a) expressing middle tumor antigen upon glucocorticoid addition. These results suggest that polyomavirus interacts with the cell membrane at the onset of infection to increase the levels of mRNA for cellular genes associated with cell competence for DNA replication, and subsequently these levels are maintained by the action of the early viral proteins.
Proton NMR measurements of bacteriophage T4 lysozyme aided by 15N isotopic labeling: structural and dynamic studies of larger proteins.
Authors: McIntosh L P , Griffey R H , Muchmore D C , Nielson C P , Redfield A G , Dahlquist F W
Published: May 2006

A strategy for resolution and assignment of single proton resonances in proteins of molecular mass up to at least 40 kDa is presented. This approach is based on 15N (or 13C) labeling of selected residues in a protein. The resonances from protons directly bonded to labeled atoms are detected in a two-dimensional 1H-15N (or 13C) spectrum. The nuclear Overhauser effects from isotopically tagged protons are selectively observed in one-dimensional isotope-directed measurements. Using this approach, we have observed approximately 160 resonances from 15N-bonded protons in the backbone and sidechains of uniformly 15N-labeled T4 lysozyme (molecular mass = 18.7 kDa). Partial proton-deuterium exchange can be used to simplify the 1H-15N spectrum of this protein. These resonances are identified by amino acid class using selective incorporation of 15N-labeled amino acids and are assigned to specific residues by mutational substitution, multiple 15N and 13C labeling, and isotope-directed nuclear Overhauser effect measurements. For example, using a phenyl[15N]alanine-labeled lysozyme variant containing two consecutive phenylalanine residues in an alpha-helical region, we observe an isotope-directed nuclear Overhauser effect from the amide proton of Phe-66 to that of Phe-67.
DNA rearrangements in human follicular lymphoma can involve the 5' or the 3' region of the bcl-2 gene.
Authors: Tsujimoto Y , Bashir M M , Givol I , Cossman J , Jaffe E , Croce C M
Published: May 2006

In most human follicular lymphomas, the chromosome translocation t(14;18) occurs within two breakpoint clustering regions on chromosome 18, the major one at the 3' untranslated region of the bcl-2 gene and the minor one at 3' of the gene. Analysis of a panel of follicular lymphoma DNAs using probes for the first exon of the bcl-2 gene indicates that DNA rearrangements may also occur 5' to the involved bcl-2 gene. In this case the IgH locus and the bcl-2 gene are found in the order 3' C gamma S gamma/mu JH 5'::5' bcl-2 3' (where C = constant, S = switch, and JH = joining segment of the heavy chain locus), suggesting that an inversion also occurred during the translocation process. The coding regions of the bcl-2 gene, however, are left intact in all cases of follicular lymphoma studied to date.
A
Drosophila
gene is subject to glucose repression
Authors: Benkel Bernhard F. , Hickey Donal A.
Published: May 2006

Amylase-specific cDNA probes were used to assay amylase mRNA levels in third-instar larvae of
Drosophila melanogaster
. It is shown that there is a difference, of the order of 100-fold, in the mRNA levels between larvae that are fed 10% glucose and larvae of the same wild-type strain that are fed an equivalent diet lacking glucose. In fact, the glucose-fed larvae have barely detectable levels of amylase mRNA. This large difference in transcript abundance indicates that the glucose effect, which we previously characterized at the level of enzyme activity, probably reflects a change in the transcriptional activity of the amylase gene.
Peroxisomal beta-oxidation enzyme proteins in adrenoleukodystrophy: distinction between X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy and neonatal adrenoleukodystrophy.
Authors: Chen W W , Watkins P A , Osumi T , Hashimoto T , Moser H W
Published: May 2006

Very long chain fatty acids, which accumulate in plasma and tissues in X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), neonatal ALD, and the Zellweger cerebrohepatorenal syndrome, are degraded by the peroxisomal beta-oxidation pathway, consisting of acyl-CoA oxidase, the bifunctional enoyl-CoA hydratase/3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, and beta-ketothiolase. A marked deficiency of all three enzyme proteins was reported in livers from patients with the Zellweger syndrome, a disorder in which peroxisomes are decreased or absent. Peroxisomes are not as markedly decreased in neonatal ALD and appear normal in X-linked ALD. Immunoblot analysis of the peroxisomal beta-oxidation enzymes revealed an almost complete lack of the bifunctional enzyme in neonatal ALD liver, similar to the finding in Zellweger tissue. In contrast, acyl-CoA oxidase and beta-ketothiolase were present in neonatal ALD liver, although the thiolase appeared to be in precursor form (2-3 kDa larger than the mature enzyme) in neonatal ALD. Unlike either neonatal ALD or Zellweger syndrome, all three peroxisomal beta-oxidation enzymes were present in X-linked ALD liver. Despite the absence in neonatal ALD liver of bifunctional enzyme protein, its mRNA was detected by RNA blot analysis in fibroblasts from these patients. These observations suggest that lack of bifunctional enzyme protein in neonatal ALD results from either abnormal translation of the mRNA or degradation of the enzyme prior to its entry into peroxisomes.
Purification and subunit composition of atrial natriuretic peptide receptor.
Authors: Schenk D B , Phelps M N , Porter J G , Fuller F , Cordell B , Lewicki J A
Published: May 2006

A receptor for atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) was purified 2700-fold, to apparent homogeneity, from cultured bovine aortic smooth muscle cells by affinity chromatography. The native ANP receptor has a molecular weight of 125,000 as determined by both metrizamide gradient centrifugation and nonreducing NaDodSO4/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. With 125I-labeled ANP as ligand, the purified receptor bound a maximum of 5.70 nmol of ligand per mg of protein and the dissociation constant was 4.0 X 10(-10)M. Upon treatment with 10 mM dithiothreitol, the purified receptor migrated as a single band at Mr 60,500 in NaDodSO4/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These findings show that the holoreceptor for ANP in vascular tissue is composed of two subunits of identical apparent molecular weight, presumably linked by a disulfide bridge(s).
Characterization of the high-affinity cell-surface receptor for murine B-cell-stimulating factor 1.
Authors: Park L S , Friend D , Grabstein K , Urdal D L
Published: May 2006

Radiolabeled recombinant murine B-cell-stimulatory factor 1 (BSF-1) was used to characterize receptors specific for this lymphokine on the surface of primary B and T cells and in vitro cell lines representing the B-cell, T-cell, mast cell, macrophage, and myelomonocytic lineages. BSF-1 binding was rapid and saturable at 4 degrees C and 37 degrees C with a slow dissociation rate. On all cell types examined, BSF-1 bound to a single class of high-affinity receptor (less than 2000 receptors per cell) with a Ka of 10(10)-10(11) M-1. Receptor expression on resting primary B and T cells was low (less than 100 receptors per cell), whereas activation with lipopolysaccharide or Con A produced a 5- to 10-fold increase in receptor numbers. Among a panel of lymphokines and growth hormones, only unlabeled BSF-1 was able to compete for the binding of 125I-labeled BSF-1. Affinity crosslinking experiments resulted in the identification on all cells tested of a receptor protein with an average Mr of 75,000.
Uptake of norepinephrine and related catecholamines by cultured chromaffin cells: characterization of cocaine-sensitive and -insensitive plasma membrane transport sites.
Authors: Banerjee D K , Lutz R A , Levine M A , Rodbard D , Pollard H B
Published: May 2006

Norepinephrine and its closely related analogues, dopamine and epinephrine, are transported into chromaffin cells in culture by two distinct types of sites on the plasma membrane: one is sensitive to cocaine while the other is not. The cocaine-sensitive site has a high affinity for catecholamines and depends on sodium in the medium. The apparent Km for norepinephrine uptake by the cocaine-sensitive site is 5.8 microM when determined in the presence of 118 mM NaCl, obtained using nonlinear least-square curve fitting. Detailed kinetic analysis has also shown cocaine to be a competitive inhibitor of norepinephrine uptake with an apparent Ki of ca. 1 microM. This site is blocked by a series of tricyclic antidepressant drugs with relative potencies characteristic of norepinephrine transport sites in neurons. In contrast, the cocaine-insensitive site(s) have a low affinity for norepinephrine (apparent Km, approximately 88 microM) and are also able to transport catecholamine analogues such as dimethyl-epinephrine and isoproterenol, which have bulky groups attached to the amine moiety. Transport of norepinephrine at both sites is blocked by low temperature, by mitochondrial uncouplers, and by other metabolic inhibitors. Both of these transport sites in the chromaffin cell plasma membrane, therefore, appear to be different from the well-characterized catecholamine transport sites in the chromaffin granule membrane on the basis of substrate specificity and their sensitivity to inhibitors.
Divergent fates of von Willebrand factor and its propolypeptide (von Willebrand antigen II) after secretion from endothelial cells.
Authors: Wagner D D , Fay P J , Sporn L A , Sinha S , Lawrence S O , Marder V J
Published: May 2006

The intracellular site of cleavage of pro-von Willebrand factor subunit and the subsequent fate of the propolypeptide (von Willebrand antigen II) and of the mature von Willebrand factor (vWf) were investigated. Both the propolypeptide, which was found to be a homodimer of noncovalently linked subunits, and mature vWf were released from Weibel-Palade bodies of endothelial cells following stimulation with secretagogues. The stoichiometry of the two released proteins was essentially equimolar. This indicates that vWf and the propolypeptide were packaged into the Weibel-Palade bodies as one unit, pro-vWf, and that the proteolytic cleavage of pro-vWf is likely to be a post-Golgi event. The association of prosequences into dimers supports their hypothetical role in the multimerization process. After secretion, the two proteins were distributed differently, as based on the following observations. The propolypeptide did not associate with vWf in the culture medium, did not codistribute with vWf in the extracellular "patches of release" on stimulated endothelial cells, and was not detected in the endothelial cell extracellular matrix, which did contain vWf. Additionally, in contrast to vWf, the propolypeptide did not bind to the matrix of human foreskin fibroblasts. Since the propolypeptide does not associate with vWf and does not interact with extracellular matrices in vitro, it is highly unlikely that it would promote platelet adhesion to subendothelium in vivo.
Evolution of accelerated senescence in laboratory populations of Drosophila.
Authors: Mueller L D
Published: May 2006

Ecological theories of life history evolution predict that natural selection should favor semelparous life histories in environments where juvenile survival is high relative to adult survival and rates of population growth are high. That is, organisms should complete their entire reproductive effort in a short period of time following maturation. Direct empirical verification of this idea has been lacking. Six independent populations of Drosophila melanogaster were maintained in two different environments, called r and K, for more than 120 generations. In the r environment population size was small, larval survival and rates of population growth were high, and reproduction was limited to a few days after eclosion. In the K environment population size was large and larval survival low, but adults were allowed to reproduce indefinitely. The fecundity of females of different sizes from each environment was measured daily for 4 weeks. No differences in fecundity were seen during the first week of adult life for females from the two environments. By the fourth week, however, the fecundity of large females from the r environment was 47-83% less than that of females from the K environment. The accelerated senescence exhibited by females from the r environment appears to be due to the accumulation of deleterious alleles whose effects are expressed late in life, which is consistent with the mutation accumulation hypothesis for the evolution of senescence.
Involvement of chromosome X in primary cytogenetic change in human neoplasia: nonrandom translocation in synovial sarcoma.
Authors: Turc-Carel C , Dal Cin P , Limon J , Rao U , Li F P , Corson J M , Zimmerman R , Parry D M , Cowan J M , Sandberg A A
Published: May 2006

A translocation that involves chromosome X (band p11.2) and chromosome 18 (band q11.2) was observed in short-term in vitro cultures of cells from five synovial sarcomas and one malignant fibrous histiocytoma. In four of these tumors, the translocation t(X;18)(p11.2;q11.2) was reciprocal. The two other tumors had complex translocations: t(X;18;21)(p11.2;q11.2;p13) and t(X;15;18)(p11.2;q23;q11.2). A translocation between chromosomes X and 18 was not detected in other histological types of soft tissue sarcoma. The X;18 rearrangement appears to characterize the synovial sarcoma and is the first description of a primary, nonrandom change in the sex chromosome of a human solid tumor.
Overproduction of detoxifying esterases in organophosphate-resistant Culex mosquitoes and their presence in other insects.
Authors: Mouchès C , Magnin M , Bergé J B , de Silvestri M , Beyssat V , Pasteur N , Georghiou G P
Published: May 2006

Antisera raised against the denatured polypeptide of two organophosphate-detoxifying esterases (B1 and A1) of Culex mosquitoes were used in an immunoblot method to quantify esterase production in resistant versus susceptible strains and to detect the presence of immunologically related proteins in other insects. It was demonstrated that esterase B1 of Culex quinquefasciatus and esterase A1 of Culex pipiens are overproduced in resistant strains by factors of at least 500-fold and 70-fold, respectively, as compared with the corresponding susceptible strains. These factors approximate the levels of resistance to the organophosphate chlorpyrifos determined by bioassay--i.e., about 800-fold and 100-fold, respectively. Antiesterase B1 antiserum was found to react with other type B esterases (B2 of C. quinquefasciatus and B3 of Culex tarsalis) but not with type A esterases (A1 of C. pipiens, A2 of C. quinquefasciatus, or A3 of C. tarsalis); similarly, antiesterase A1 antiserum was found to react with other type A esterases (A2 and A3) but not with type B esterases (B1, B2, and B3). Proteins immunologically related to esterase B1 were detected in Aedes aegypti L., Myzus persicae Sultzer, and Musca domestica L., although they were not overproduced in the organophosphate-resistant strains of these species. In none of these species were proteins immunologically related to esterase A1 found.
Human placental ribonuclease inhibitor abolishes both angiogenic and ribonucleolytic activities of angiogenin.
Authors: Shapiro R , Vallee B L
Published: May 2006

Human placental ribonuclease inhibitor (PRI) abolishes both the ribonucleolytic activity of angiogenin toward 28S and 18S rRNA and its angiogenic activity on the chicken embryo chorioallantoic membrane. Treatment of the angiogenin-PRI complex with p-hydroxymercuribenzoate releases enzymatically active angiogenin. Assays measuring competition between angiogenin and bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A for PRI reveal that binding of the inhibitor to angiogenin is extremely tight, with a Ki value well below 0.1 nM. The stability of the angiogenin-PRI complex was assessed by cation-exchange HPLC quantitation of free angiogenin. No significant dissociation was detected after 17 hr at 25 degrees C in the presence of a large excess of bovine ribonuclease, which serves as a scavenger for free inhibitor. The results of these experiments, based on the predictive capacity of the angiogenin/RNase homology, suggest that PRI and related inhibitors may participate in the in vivo regulation of angiogenin and that this might have pharmacologic and/or therapeutic implications.
Pseudomonas exotoxin coupled to a monoclonal antibody against ovarian cancer inhibits the growth of human ovarian cancer cells in a mouse model.
Authors: Willingham M C , FitzGerald D J , Pastan I
Published: May 2006

In an effort to devise an alternative treatment for human ovarian cancer, we have isolated a monoclonal antibody (OVB-3) that reacts with all ovarian cancers tested (10/10) but few normal tissues. An immunotoxin produced by coupling OVB-3 to Pseudomonas exotoxin kills ovarian cancer cells in tissue culture and prolongs the life of animals bearing human ovarian cancers. These data suggest that this immunotoxin should be evaluated as a treatment for ovarian cancer in women.
A proteoglycan with HNK-1 antigenic determinants is a neuron-associated ligand for cytotactin.
Authors: Hoffman S , Edelman G M
Published: May 2006

Cytotactin is an extracellular matrix protein that is involved in neuron-glia adhesion and is found in both neural and nonneural sites. It is synthesized by glia but not by neurons. In this study, we have examined the binding of cytotactin to a variety of extracellular matrix components using uniform microscopic beads (Covaspheres) that could be labeled and then linked to purified molecules. Cytotactin-coated beads bound well to neurons, and this binding was strongly inhibited by anti-cytotactin antibodies but not by anti-neural cell adhesion molecule (anti-N-CAM) antibodies. In contrast, the binding of N-CAM-coated beads to neurons was inhibited by anti-N-CAM antibodies and not by anti-cytotactin antibodies. To identify a neuronal ligand for cytotactin, we tested several molecules for their ability to block the binding of cytotactin-coated beads to cells. A proteoglycan-containing fraction that copurified with cytotactin from brain extracts strongly inhibited binding, whereas neither a heparan sulfate proteoglycan from Engelbreth-Holm-Swarm tumor cells nor soluble cytotactin itself had a significant inhibitory effect. The neural proteoglycan also inhibited the binding of cytotactin-coated beads to fibroblasts. Digestion with chondroitinase, heparitinase, and hyaluronidase as well as immunological analyses suggested that the predominant species in the active fraction was a chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan with a Mr280,000 core protein bearing HNK-1 antigenic determinants and also indicated that hyaluronic acid was present in this fraction. In experiments on in vitro synthesis, it was found that the proteoglycan was synthesized in culture by embryonic chicken brain tissue but not by embryonic chicken glial cells. A series of binding experiments was performed on appropriately derivatized beads to confirm that the proteoglycan is a ligand for cytotactin and to check for the possibility that other extracellular matrix proteins might interact with one or the other member of this binding couple. Proteoglycan-coated beads and cytotactin-coated beads coaggregated readily. The aggregation was inhibitable by anti-cytotactin antibodies, soluble cytotactin, or soluble proteoglycan. Addition of laminin inhibited the binding of cytotactin-coated beads to proteoglycan-coated beads or to cells; this is consistent with data indicating that laminin interacts with a component of the proteoglycan-containing fraction. In contrast, fibronectin bound to cytotactin, but it did not bind to proteoglycan or interfere with the binding of cytotactin to proteoglycan. The results of this study are in accord with the idea that the functions of extracellular matrix components during neural and nonneural development may be modulated both by competition for shared cell surface receptors and by a network of molecular interactions among the matrix components themselves.
Inheritance of color vision in a New World monkey (Saimiri sciureus).
Authors: Jacobs G H , Neitz J
Published: May 2006

Squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) have a striking color-vision polymorphism; each animal has one of six different types of color vision. These arise from individual variation in the presence of three different middle- to long-wavelength cone pigments. The distribution of cone phenotypes was established for a large sample of squirrel monkeys, including several families, through analysis of a retinal gross potential. The results indicate that the inheritance of color vision in the squirrel monkey can be explained by assuming that the three middle- to long-wavelength cone pigments are specified by three alleles at a single locus on the X chromosome. This arrangement is discretely different from that found in Old World monkeys and humans.
Expression of a synthetic gene encoding human insulin-like growth factor I in cultured mouse fibroblasts.
Authors: Bayne M L , Cascieri M A , Kelder B , Applebaum J , Chicchi G , Shapiro J A , Pasleau F , Kopchick J J
Published: May 2006

A synthetic gene encoding human insulin-like growth factor I (hIGF-I) was assembled and inserted into an expression vector containing the cytomegalovirus immediate early (CMV-IE) transcriptional regulatory region and portions of the bovine growth hormone gene. The recombinant plasmid encodes a 97 amino acid fusion protein containing the first 27 amino acids of the bovine growth hormone precursor and the 70 amino acids of hIGF-I. This plasmid, when transiently introduced into cultured mouse fibroblasts, directs synthesis of the fusion protein, subsequent proteolytic removal of the bovine growth hormone signal peptide, and secretion of hIGF-I into the culture medium. Conditioned medium from transfected cells inhibits binding of 125I-labeled IGF-I to type I IGF receptors on human placental membranes and to acid-stable human serum carrier proteins. The recombinant hIGF-I produced is biologically active, as monitored by the stimulation of DNA synthesis in vascular smooth muscle cells.
Targeting of a chimeric human histone fusion mRNA to membrane-bound polysomes in HeLa cells.
Authors: Zambetti G , Stein J , Stein G
Published: May 2006

The subcellular location of histone mRNA-containing polysomes may play a key role in the posttranscriptional events that mediate histone mRNA turnover following inhibition of DNA synthesis. Previously, it has been shown that histone mRNA is found primarily on free polysomes that are associated with the cytoskeleton. We report here the construction of an Escherichia coli pBR322 beta-lactamase signal peptide-human H3 histone fusion gene. The fusion transcript is targeted to membrane-bound polysomes and remains stable following interruption of DNA replication. Relocating mRNA within the cell may provide a procedure for studying the posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression.
Monoclonal antibody to the gastrin receptor on parietal cells recognizes a 78-kDa protein.
Authors: Mu F T , Baldwin G , Weinstock J , Stockman D , Toh B H
Published: May 2006

Four monoclonal antibodies reactive by immunofluorescence and by flow microfluorimetry with canine and porcine gastric parietal cell membranes were produced by fusion of mouse NS-1 myeloma cells with splenocytes from mice immunized with a population of canine gastric mucosal cells containing 60-70% parietal cells. One of these, an IgM antibody designated 2C1, reacted with the surface membranes of parietal cells by immunofluorescence, flow microfluorimetry, and immunogold electron microscopy; competed with 125I-labeled gastrin for binding to gastric cells; and inhibited by 56% maximal gastrin stimulation of [14C]aminopyrine uptake in parietal cells. The antibody immunoprecipitated 125I-labeled samples of a 78-kDa gastrin-binding protein purified from membrane extracts of porcine gastrin mucosa but did not recognize the same protein labeled covalently with 125I-labeled gastrin-(2-17)-hexadecapeptide. These observations suggest that the previously identified 78-kDa gastrin-binding protein is the gastrin receptor and that the antibody 2C1 is directed against the gastrin binding site of the gastrin receptor.