bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Qualitative abnormalities in insulin binding in a patient with extreme insulin resistance: decreased sensitivity to alterations in temperature and pH.
Authors: Taylor S I , Roth J , Blizzard R M , Elders M J
Published: May 2006

Cultured lymphocytes transformed by Epstein--Barr virus were employed to study insulin receptors from a patient with extreme insulin resistance associated with the syndrome of leprechaunism. With cultured lymphocytes from normal subjects, insulin binding to its receptor is exquisitely sensitive to changes in temperature and pH. In cells from normal subjects, insulin binding was increased by approximately 250% as the temperature was decreased from 37 degrees C to 12 degrees C. In contrast, with cells from the leprechaun, insulin binding was only approximately 30% higher at 12 degrees C than at 37 degrees C. Similarly, insulin binding to cells from the leprechaun was markedly less sensitive to changes in pH, as compared to cells from normal subjects. Binding studies suggested that the number of insulin receptors per cell was within the normal range in this patient. Despite the unusual characteristics of insulin binding in cells from this insulin-resistant patient, the receptors were typical in at least two respects: (i) binding was inhibited normally by antibodies to the receptor; and (ii) the specificity for insulin analogs was normal (chicken insulin greater than porcine insulin much greater than guinea pig insulin greater than porcine proinsulin). This patient has an inborn error affecting insulin receptor function. The receptor's binding function was abnormal in having decreased sensitivity to alterations in temperature and pH. However, the level of insulin binding to cells from the leprechaun was within normal limits. Consequently, the hormonal resistance probably results from a decreased ability of the receptor to couple insulin binding to insulin action.
Framework for biorthogonal Fourier series
Authors: Herrera Ismael , Spence David A.
Published: May 2006

Biorthogonal Fourier series occur when applying separation of variables to many problems. Here an approach which possesses considerable advantages with respect to the standard one is explained.
Expression of two human growth hormone genes in monkey cells infected by simian virus 40 recombinants.
Authors: Pavlakis G N , Hizuka N , Gorden P , Seeburg P , Hamer D H
Published: May 2006

We have constructed simian virus 40 recombinants carrying two different human growth hormone (hGH) genes. Monkey kidney cells infected with these recombinants synthesize, process, and secrete hGH. The product of gene 1, which has coding sequences identical to those of a cloned hGH complementary DNA, is indistinguishable from pituitary hGH by several criteria. The product of gene 2, which is predicted to encode a variant protein, is less immunoreactive than pituitary hGH but binds efficiently to hGH cell surface receptors. These results show that gene 2 has the potential to be expressed into a previously unidentified form of hGH. They also demonstrate that it is possible to produce a mature hormone by gene transfer in eukaryotic cells and indicate the utility of the simian virus 40-monkey cell system for producing and characterizing secreted animal cell proteins.
Synthetic peptide fragment of src gene product inhibits the src protein kinase and crossreacts immunologically with avian onc kinases and cellular phosphoproteins.
Authors: Wong T W , Goldberg A R
Published: May 2006

All the known avian sarcoma viruses have associated protein kinase activities that phosphorylate tyrosine residues of their target proteins. A decapeptide fragment of pp60src of Rous sarcoma virus (RSV), residues 415-424, and an analog of that sequence have been chemically synthesized by solid-phase methods. The two decapeptides were not phosphorylated by pp60src of RSV, P90 of Y73 avian sarcoma virus, or P140 of Fujinami sarcoma virus. However, both peptides were able to inhibit competitively the kinase activities associated with the transforming proteins. Antiserum was raised against one of the peptides and IgG was purified from the serum by affinity chromatography. The antibody was able to precipitate pp60src of RSV as well as P90 of Y73 virus from cells infected with these viruses. The antibody also precipitated a number of high molecular weight phosphoproteins from normal chicken and rat fibroblasts and from several lines of virus-transformed cells.
Analysis of interferon mRNA in human fibroblast cells induced to produce interferon.
Authors: Raj N B , Pitha P M
Published: May 2006

The levels of interferon mRNA as a function of interferon induction by poly(rI) . poly(rC) in human fibroblast cells were determined by RNA hybridization using a cloned beta interferon cDNA and by translation in Xenopus oocytes. Whereas previous studies analyzed mixtures of interferons, the availability of the cloned beta interferon cDNA and the antiserum to purified beta interferon enabled us to focus on the expression of only one class (beta) of interferon genes. The induction of interferon synthesis depends primarily on the accumulation of interferon beta mRNA in the cells, and the interferon beta mRNA rapidly disappears several hours after its appearance in the cytoplasm. No detectable interferon beta mRNA sequences are present in uninduced cells. The degradation of interferon beta mRNA in the induced cells requires ongoing protein synthesis; accumulation of interferon beta mRNA was observed in the continuous presence of cycloheximide. The interferon beta mRNA detected at the early stages of induction is 1100 nucleotides long and its size progressively decreases with time. By both the hybridization and the translational assay in Xenopus oocytes, only one size of interferon beta mRNA and one species of beta interferon could be identified.
Early and late functions associated with the Golgi apparatus reside in distinct compartments.
Authors: Dunphy W G , Fries E , Urbani L J , Rothman J E
Published: May 2006

Enzymes that catalyze the two successive stages of Golgi-associated processing of asparagine-linked oligosaccharides distributed differently when membranes from Chinese hamster ovary cells were centrifuged in a sucrose density gradient. A mannosidase that removes only outer, alpha-1,2-linked mannose residues from the precursor oligosaccharides of the vesicular stomatitis viral G protein (to yield a "trimmed" oligosaccharide core) was separated from enzymes (galactosyl- and sialyltransferases) that act in the later, terminal stage of glycosylation. Freshly acylated G protein with newly trimmed oligosaccharides banded in the distribution of early-acting membranes, defined by the mannosidase, whereas G protein pulse-labeled with [3H]galactose distributed in the profile of the late-acting membranes. G protein present in the early-acting membranes in crude fractions could be terminally glycosylated by incubation with exogenous Golgi membranes in vitro; G protein lost its ability to be processed in vitro as it appeared to enter the late-acting membranes in vivo. These experiments reveal the existence of two distinct compartments through which intracellularly transported proteins such as G pass in sequence as Golgi-associated processes are carried out. It is likely that these compartments consist of cisternae on the cis and trans sides of the Golgi stack.
Molecular and functional analysis of the TOL plasmid pWWO from Pseudomonas putida and cloning of genes for the entire regulated aromatic ring meta cleavage pathway.
Authors: Franklin F C , Bagdasarian M , Bagdasarian M M , Timmis K N
Published: May 2006

The genetic organization of the Pseudomonas putida plasmid pWWO-161, which encodes enzymes for the degradation of toluene and related aromatic hydrocarbons, has been investigated by transposition mutagenesis and gene cloning. Catabolic genes were localized to two clusters, one for upper pathway (hydrocarbon leads to carboxylic acid) enzymes and the other for lower pathway (carboxylic acid leads to tricarboxylic acid cycle) enzymes, that are separated by a 14-kilobase DNA segment. The physical organization of the catabolic genes thus reflects their functional organization into two regulatory blocks. The pWWO-161 DNA fragments Sst I fragment C and fragment D were cloned in a broad host range vector to produce plasmid pKT530. This hybrid encodes toluate oxygenase and all meta cleavage pathway enzymes, and it enables P. putida mt-2 and Escherichia coli K-12 cells to grow on m-toluate as sole carbon source. The pKT530 plasmid also carries xylS (a gene whose product has been postulated to regulate expression of the lower pathway genes) and the control sequences of the pathway that interact with this product, because catechol 2,3-oxygenase synthesis is specifically induced by m-toluate in both P. putida and E. coli. Evidence is presented that suggests the promoter operator of the meta pathway gene functions less effectively with the RNA polymerase or xylS product of E. coli than with the enzyme or product of P. putida.
Thioredoxin, glutaredoxin, and thioredoxin reductase from cultured HeLa cells.
Authors: Tsang M L , Weatherbee J A
Published: May 2006

Thioredoxin and glutaredoxin may be important in regulating cell metabolism by mediating interchanges between sulfhydryl and disulfide groups. Components of the thioredoxin/glutaredoxin system from cultured HeLa cells have been partially purified and characterized by using Escherichia coli adenosine 3'-phosphate 5'-phosphosulfate reductase, a thioredoxin/glutaredoxin-dependent enzyme on the pathway of sulfate reduction, as an assay system. In HeLa cells, a NADPH-thioredoxin reductase and three heat-labile proteins (designated PI, PII, and PIII) that have thioredoxin- or glutaredoxin-like properties are found. Both PI and PIII have molecular masses of approximately 12,000 daltons and are readily reduced by their homologous HeLa thioredoxin reductase. However, only PI can be reduced efficiently by the glutathione system and neither PI nor PIII has inherent glutathione-disulfide oxidoreductase activity. PII has a molecular mass of greater than 30,000 daltons and appears to be associated with a reductase activity. The HeLa NADPH-thioredoxin reductase has been purified to near homogeneity and found to be a 116,000-dalton flavoprotein composed of two 58,000-dalton subunits. The HeLa enzyme has low species and substrate specificity and can reduce HeLa PI and PIII, E. coli thioredoxin and glutaredoxin, and the disulfide bond in 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid). The exact in vivo roles of the HeLa thioredoxin/glutaredoxin system remain to be determined.
High-resolution analysis of human peripheral lymphocyte chromosomes by flow cytometry.
Authors: Young B D , Ferguson-Smith M A , Sillar R , Boyd E
Published: May 2006

A method for high-resolution analysis of the human karyotype by flow cytometry has been developed. Metaphase chromosomes are prepared from short-term peripheral blood cultures, stained with ethidium bromide, and analyzed on a standard fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS-II). Flow karyotypes with up to 20 peaks can be obtained with coefficients of variation in the range 1-2%. At this level of resolution the contribution of many of the human chromosomes can be evaluated separately. Significant and reproducible differences between normal individuals have been detected and have been correlated with differences in the centric heterochromatin of certain chromosomes as revealed in their C-banded karyotypes.
Immunoreactive dynorphin in mammalian spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia.
Authors: Botticelli L J , Cox B M , Goldstein A
Published: May 2006

The distribution of immunoreactive dynorphin (ir-dynorphin) has been determined in dorsal and ventral aspects of spinal cord and in dorsal root ganglia of rabbit and rat. Concentrations are highest in dorsal root, with intermediate levels in ventral cord and low levels in dorsal root ganglia of both species. Levels of ir-dynorphin are relatively uniform over examined segments (vertebrae C2-S3) of rabbit spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia. Gel permeation chromatography of extracts from rabbit dorsal and ventral spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia revealed at least three immunoreactive components of differing molecular size in all three structures. Multiple unilateral or bilateral dorsal rhizotomy (vertebrae C5-T1) in rat did not affect levels of ir-dynorphin in spinal cord. As reported [Goldstein, A. & Ghazarossian, V. E. (1980) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 77, 6207-6210], midthoracic spinal transection was without effect. Within the spinal cord, the neuropeptide appears, most probably, to be contained in short-axoned neurons. We surmise that this potent opioid peptide may participate in the processing of sensory information in spinal cord.
Chemical heterogeneity in cerebellar Purkinje cells: existence and coexistence of glutamic acid decarboxylase-like and motilin-like immunoreactivities.
Authors: Chan-Palay V , Nilaver G , Palay S L , Beinfeld M C , Zimmerman E A , Wu J Y , O'Donohue T L
Published: May 2006

Purkinje neurons of the cerebellar cortex from a chemically and morphologically heterogeneous population containing some members that have gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), others that have immunoreactivity for motilin, and a small number that have both. The remaining 30-40% of all Purkinje cells have neither of these two neuroactive substances, leaving possibilities for other transmitter candidates. The evidence was compiled from double-staining immunocytochemical procedures performed on single sections of the cerebellum and brain stem in rat, mouse, and monkey. Two polyclonal antibodies were applied in succession, one directed against the midregion and COOH terminus of the 22-amino acid polypeptide motilin and the other against glutamic acid decarboxylase (glutamate decarboxylase; L-glutamate 1-carboxy-lyase, EC 4.1.1.15), the rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis of the neurotransmitter GABA. The staining combinations employed the immunoperoxidase method, with different chromogens for distinguishing the motilin-like immunoreactivity from glutamic acid decarboxylase immunoreactivity by different colors, or the immunoperoxidase method for one antiserum and immunofluorescence for the other. The locations of both motilin and GABA cell types were mapped. The recognition of motilin in Purkinje cells calls for experimental definition of the role of this substance in the cerebellum and for reevaluation of the roles of Purkinje cells and of GABA in cerebellar function. The significant motilin representation in the flocculus, paraflocculus, and vermis suggests that it may be the Purkinje cell mediative chemical in the vestibular parts of the cerebellum. However, the presence of GABA as well in the same regions indicates that the chemical preference may be at least bimodal.
Changes in neuromuscular junction endplate current time constants produced by sulfhydryl reagents.
Authors: Steinacker A , Zuazaga D C
Published: May 2006

The acetylcholine receptor is a protein that contains certain critical disulfide bonds. Experiments were designed to determine the role such bonds might play in the physiological activity of the receptor. Modification of the receptor with sodium bisulfite and diamide produced an increase in the time constants of the miniature endplate current without changes in the single-channel properties of the receptor. Controls were done to determine that this change in the miniature endplate current was not due to an effect on acetylcholinesterase at the endplate. These data are interpreted to mean that the reagents increase the time acetylcholine is bound to the receptor before the channel opens and is most probably due to a change in receptor affinity brought about by chemical modification of the receptor protein.
Reduction of K+ efflux in cultured mouse fibroblasts, by mutation or by diuretics, permits growth in K+-deficient medium.
Authors: Jayme D W , Adelberg E A , Slayman C W
Published: May 2006

The mouse fibroblastic cell line LM(TK-) is unable to grow at external K+ concentrations below a threshold value of 0.4 mM. At subthreshold K+ concentrations, LM(TK-) cells rapidly lose intracellular K+ and eventually lyse. We have analyzed the pathway primarily responsible for K+ efflux under these experimental conditions and reports its specific inhibition by two diuretics, furosemide and bumetanide. Bumetanide, an analog of furosemide, was a more potent inhibitor (by several orders of magnitude) than was furosemide itself. The effects of ouabain and bumetanide were additive, suggesting independence of diuretic-sensitive K+ efflux from Na+/K+ pump-mediated fluxes. Characterization of K+ efflux in LTK-5, a mutant derived from LM(TK-) and selected for its ability to grow at 0.2 mM K+ indicated that the mutant had lost the diuretic-sensitive K+ efflux pathway. Net cation fluxes, steady-state intracellular cation concentrations, and growth at reduced K+ concentrations were comparable for LM(TK-) cells maximally inhibited by diuretics and for the LTK-5 mutant grown either in the presence or absence of diuretics. Thus, reduction in K+ efflux, either by diuretic addition diuretics. Thus, reduction in K+ efflux, either by diuretic addition or by genetic alteration, can permit the cell to maintain normal cation gradients and to grow at otherwise subthreshold external K+ concentrations.
Alterations in polyamine levels induced by phorbol diesters and other agents that promote differentiation in human promyelocytic leukemia cells
Authors: Huberman Eliezer , Weeks Charles , Herrmann Adria , Callaham Michael , Slaga Thomas
Published: May 2006

Polyamine levels were evaluated in human HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells after treatment with inducers of terminal differentiation. Differentiation in these cells was determined by increases in the percentage of morphologically mature cells and in lysozyme activity. Treatment of the HL-60 cells with phorbol 12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA), phorbol 12,13-didecanoate or other inducers of terminal differentiation such as dimethylsulfoxide and retinoic acid resulted in increased levels of putrescine. However, no increase in putrescine could be detected after PMA treatment of a HL-60 cell variant that exhibited a decreased susceptibility to PMA-induced terminal differentiation. Similarly, no increase in putrescine was observed with two non-tumor-promoters (phorbol 12,13-diacetate and 4-
O
-methyl-PMA) or with anthralin, a non-phorbol tumor promoter. In addition to enhancing putrescine levels, PMA also increased the amount of spermidine and decreased the amount of spermine. The increase in putrescine and spermidine preceded the expression of the various differentiation markers. Unlike the changes observed in the polyamine levels after PMA treatment, the activities of ornithine and
S
-adenosylmethionine decarboxylases, which are polyamine biosynthetic enzymes, did not significantly change. α-Methylornithine and α-difluoromethylornithine and methylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone), which are inhibitors of the polyamine biosynthetic enzymes, did not affect differentiation in control or PMA-treated cells. Because of these observations, we suggest that the change in polyamine levels involve biochemical pathways other than the known biosynthetic ones. By-products of these pathways may perhaps be the controlling factors involved in the induction of terminal differentiation in the HL-60 and other cell types as well.
Visible absorption spectrum of liquid ethylene
Authors: Nelson Edward T. , Patel C. Kumar N.
Published: May 2006

The visible absorption spectrum of liquid ethylene at ≈ 108 K from 5500 Å to 7200 Å was measured by using a pulsed tunable dye laser, immersed-transducer, gated-detection opto-acoustic spectroscopy technique. The absorption features show the strongest band with an absorption coefficient of ≈2 × 10
-2
cm
-1
and the weakest band with an absorption coefficient of ≈1 × 10
-4
cm
-1
. Proposed assignments of the observed absorption peaks involve combinations of overtones of local and normal modes of vibration of ethylene.
Structure of the turkey erythrocyte adenylate cyclase system.
Authors: Nielsen T B , Lad P M , Preston M S , Kempner E , Schlegel W , Rodbell M
Published: May 2006

Target analysis of the turkey erythrocyte adenylate cyclase [ATP pyrophosphate-lyase (cyclizing), EC 4.6.1.1] system showed that the molecular weight of the ground state enzyme increases from 92,000 with MnATP as substrate and no stimulatory ligands to 226,000 when activated by fluoride ion or by 5'-guanyl imidodiphosphate (p[NH]ppG) subsequent to clearance of previously bound GDP. The identical increment in size (130,000) suggests that the same regulatory unit is involved in the activation by both effectors. When assayed with isoproterenol and p[NH]ppG, the enzyme system displayed a further increment in size of 90,000 daltons. Based on binding of the antagonist 125I-labeled hydroxybenzylpindolol, the beta-adrenergic receptor is about 90,000 daltons or the same as that seen for activation of the enzyme by isoproterenol through the beta-adrenergic-receptor. Because single targets were seen for the ground state enzyme system under all conditions, it would appear that the various regulatory and catalytic components are structurally linked prior to activation by hormone, guanine nucleotides, and fluoride ion. Furthermore, based on reported subunit sizes of the nucleotide regulatory and receptor components are composed of multiple subunits, either homologous or heterologous in structure.
DNA sequence required for initiation of transcription in vitro from the major late promoter of adenovirus 2.
Authors: Hu S L , Manley J L
Published: May 2006

We have identified a region of the viral genome required for the initiation of transcription in vitro from the major late promoter of adenovirus 2. A fragment of the adenovirus genome containing the cap site of the major late transcripts was inserted into plasmid pBR322 and cloned. Deletions were then generated in vitro in and around the T-A-T-A-A-A-A sequence located 25-31 nucleotides (positions -25 to -31) upstream from the cap site. DNAs with these deletions were tested for their ability to initiate transcription in vitro by the method of Manley et al. [Manley, J. L., Fire, A., Cano, A., Sharp, P. A. & Gefter, M. L. (1980) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 77, 3855-3859]. Whereas removal of sequences upstream from position -47 or downstream from position -12 did not abolish transcription, deletions extending into, or beyond, the T-A-T-A-A-A-A sequence reduced transcription to less than 1/10th. Removal of the normal cap site slightly reduced, but did not abolish, transcription. These results indicate that the region of the genome upstream of the cap site, with boundaries within 15-17 nucleotides to either side of the T-A-T-A-A-A-A sequence, is required for the initiation of transcription in vitro from the major late promoter of adenovirus 2.
Obligatory separation of hormone binding and biological response curves in systems dependent upon secondary mediators of hormone action.
Authors: Strickland S , Loeb J N
Published: May 2006

A mathematical model is presented that describes the effects of hormone concentration on receptor saturation and biological response in systems dependent upon the generation of a secondary mediator such as cyclic AMP. The analysis makes the following assumptions: (i) the binding of hormone to its receptor is a reversible, second-order reaction; (ii) the concentration of mediator that is generated is directly proportional to the number of membrane binding sites occupied by hormone; and (iii) the binding of the mediator with its intracellular receptor to generate an effector complex is also second-order and results in a proportionate biological response. It follows from this treatment that the hormone concentration required for half-maximal biological response is formally lower than that required for half-maximal receptor saturation and that the difference between these two concentrations will depend upon the ratio of total mediator generated at full receptor occupancy to the dissociation constant of the mediator with its receptor. Without invoking concepts of negative cooperativity, this model offers a simple explanation for discrepancies between receptor occupancy and biological response curves that are often observed. Moreover, the mathematical form of the predicted biological response curves conforms to the shape of the response curves observed experimentally in a wide variety of systems.
Unspliced functional late 19S mRNAs containing intervening sequences are produced by a late leader mutant of simian virus 40.
Authors: Ghosh P K , Roy P , Barkan A , Mertz J E , Weissman S M , Lebowitz P
Published: May 2006

dl-805 is a viable deletion mutant of simian virus 40 lacking 187 of the 202 nucleotides coding for the principal leader of the wild-type viral late mRNAs. The structures of the mutant late 16S and 19S RNAs and proteins were examined with the following principal findings. (i) The vast majority, if not all, of the 19S RNAs are unspliced over their entire length. These RNAs contain intervening sequences and serve as mRNAs. The vast majority, if not all, of the 16S RNAs, however, retain the characteristic wild-type splice. (ii) Mutant 16S and 19S RNAs do not terminate at residue 243 (located six nucleotides upstream from the 5' end of the deleted DNA segment), the principal 5' terminus of the wild-type late mRNAs; rather, they begin at a series of sites, mostly upstream, used infrequently or not at all by wild-type virus. (iii) Despite the presence of altered late mRNAs, dl-805 late proteins have electrophoretic mobilities similar to those of wild-type late proteins, and mutant virions contain the same relative quantities of late proteins as wild-type virions.
Saturation and suppression of hepatic lipoprotein receptors: a mechanism for the hypercholesterolemia of cholesterol-fed rabbits.
Authors: Kovanen P T , Brown M S , Basu S K , Bilheimer D W , Goldstein J L
Published: May 2006

Cholesterol-fed rabbits develop a marked in crease in plasma cholesterol levels. Most of the excess plasma cholesterol is contained in beta-migrating very low density lipoprotein (beta-VLDL), a cholesterol-rich particle that contains apoproteins B and E. When 125I-labeled beta-VLDL from cholesterol-fed rabbits was injected intravenously into normal rabbits, the lipoprotein was cleared rapidly from plasma, 80% of the radioactivity appearing in the liver within 4 min. In vitro binding assays showed that this uptake was due to the presence on liver membranes of a high-affinity, low-capacity binding site that resembles the low density lipoprotein receptor previously characterized on extrahepatic tissues. When the 125I-labeled beta-VLDL was injected into cholesterol-fed rabbits, hepatic uptake was reduced by more than 95% and the lipoprotein remained in the plasma. This defective uptake in cholesterol-fed rabbits was due to two factors: (i) saturation of the lipoprotein receptors by the high concentration of endogenous plasma beta-VLDL and (ii) a 60% reduction in the number of hepatic receptors after cholesterol feeding. Of the two factors, saturation of receptors was quantitatively more important. We suggest that, as a result of the saturation and suppression of receptors, the hepatic removal of beta-VLDL in the cholesterol-fed rabbit fails to increase commensurate with the diet-induced increase in beta-VLDL synthesis and profound hypercholesterolemia ensues.
Biological activity of the spleen focus-forming virus is encoded by a molecularly cloned subgenomic fragment of spleen focus-forming virus DNA.
Authors: Linemeyer D L , Ruscetti S K , Scolnick E M , Evans L H , Duesberg P H
Published: May 2006

A biologically active subgenomic DNA fragment of a polycythemia-inducing strain of the replication-defective spleen focus-forming virus (SFFV) has been molecularly cloned. The SFFV DNA fragment includes 2.0 kilobase pairs (kbp) from the 3' end of SFFV, the long terminal repeat sequences of SFFV, and 0.4 kbp from the 5' end of SFFV. The fragment contains the previously described env-related gene of SFFV. All the properties associated with SFFV can be assigned to this SFFV DNA fragment by using a two-stage DNA transfection assay with infectious helper virus DNA. The virus recovered from the transfection assays can induce erythroblastosis, splenic foci, and polycythemia in infected mice. Fibroblast cultures transfected with the SFFV DNA fragment synthesize gp52, the known intracellular product of the env-related gene of SFFV. gp52 can also be detected in spleens from diseased mice infected with the virus recovered in the two-stage transfection. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the env-related gene sequences of SFFV and their product gp52 are required for the initiation of SFFV-induced disease.
Sickle cell hemoglobin fiber structure altered by alpha-chain mutation.
Authors: Crepeau R H , Edelstein S J , Szalay M , Benesch R E , Benesch R , Kwong S , Edalji R
Published: May 2006

Hybrid hemoglobin molecules prepared with beta chains from hemoglobin S (beta 6 Glu leads to Val) and alpha chains from hemoglobin Sealy (alpha 47 Asp leads to His) form fibers with a novel structure. In contrast to the typical fibers of hemoglobin S with an average diameter of 22 nm and a solid cross section composed of 10 outer filaments surrounding a 4-filament core, the fibers of the alpha Sealy2 beta S2 hybrid are much larger, with a mean diameter of 32 nm and a unique double-hollow arrangement of filaments. Sealy--S fibers can be described by a model in which the two pairs of filaments most readily lost from fibers of hemoglobin S are missing to form the hollow regions, with an additional sheath of filaments added to form the overall larger structure.
Molecular cloning of avian myelocytomatosis virus (MC29) transforming sequences.
Authors: Lautenberger J A , Schulz R A , Garon C F , Tsichlis P N , Papas T S
Published: May 2006

Avian myelocytomatosis virus (MC29), a defective acute leukemia virus, has a broad oncogenic spectrum in vivo and transforms fibroblasts and hematopoietic target cells in vitro. We have used recombinant DNA technology to isolate and to characterize the sequences that are essential in the transformation process. Integrated MC29 proviral DNA was isolated from a library of recombinant phage containing DNA from the MC29-transformed nonproducer quail cell line Q5. The cloned DNA was analyzed by Southern blotting of restriction endonuclease digests and by electron microscopic visualization of R loops formed between the cloned DNA and MC29 or helper virus RNA. It was found that the 9.2-kilobase cloned DNA insert contains approximately 4 kilobases of viral sequences and 5.2 kilobases of quail cellular sequences. The viral sequences contain all of the MC29-specific sequences and 5' helper-related sequences as well as part of the envelope region. The size of the cloned EcoRI fragment is the same as that of the major band in EcoRI-cleaved Q5 DNA that hybridizes to viral sequences. Transfection of the cloned DNA into NIH 3T3 cells revealed that the MC29-specific sequences are functional in that they induce foci of transformed cells with high efficiency.
Transformation of mouse fibroblasts to methotrexate resistance by a recombinant plasmid expressing a prokaryotic dihydrofolate reductase.
Authors: O'Hare K , Benoist C , Breathnach R
Published: May 2006

A recombinant plasmid has been constructed for the expression of inserted DNA sequences coding for polypeptide chains using the simian virus 40 early promoter and splicing and polyadenylylation signals from the rabbit beta-globin gene. The coding regions for two prokaryotic methotrexate-resistant dihydrofolate reductases were introduced into the expression vector. When mouse fibroblasts were exposed to these recombinant plasmids, it was possible to select methotrexate-resistant clones that had integrated the plasmids and produced a chimeric RNA coding for the prokaryotic enzyme.
Tissue-specific exposure of chromatin structure at the 5' terminus of the rat preproinsulin II gene.
Authors: Wu C , Gilbert W
Published: May 2006

The 5' terminus of the rat preproinsulin II gene exhibits a tissue-dependent DNase I sensitivity. Only in the chromatin froma pancreatic beta-cell tumor, but not in liver, spleen, kidney, or brain chromatin, is a region at and before the 5' end of the gene exposed to cleavage. The region of exposure extends 250-300 base pairs upstream from the 5' terminus of the preproinsulin mRNA. Such a region may allow control sequences special access to regulatory proteins.
Human placentas contain a specific inhibitor of RNA-directed DNA polymerase.
Authors: Nelson J A , Levy J A , Leong J C
Published: May 2006

Human placental extracts contain a specific inhibitor of mammalian retroviral RNA-directed DNA polymerase (deoxynucleosidetriphosphate:DNA deoxynucleotidyltransferase, EC 2.7.7.7) activity. This inhibitor copurifies with retrovirus-like particles in human placental extracts. The inhibitor can be removed from these particles by salt extraction, which leads to the recovery of the polymerase activity. Thus, the inhibitor does not irreversibly inactivate the particle-associated RNA-directed DNA polymerase activity. The inhibitory preparation contained no nuclease, protease, or phosphatase activity. Because its inhibitory action can be eliminated by the addition of more virus to the reaction, nonspecific inactivation of enzyme substrate has been ruled out. A partial characterization of the inhibitor indicates that it is (i) insensitive to ether, trypsin, and phospholipase C; (ii) stable to heat and pH 2-12; and (iii) nondialyzable.
p53 transformation-related protein: Detection by monoclonal antibody in mouse and human cells
Authors: Dippold Wolfgang G. , Jay Gilbert , DeLeo Albert B. , Khoury George , Old Lloyd J.
Published: May 2006

A transformation-related protein of
M
r
53,000, designated p53, has been detected in a range of neoplastic cell types of the mouse by using immunoprecipitation of [
35
S]-methionine-labeled cell extracts with mouse antiserum [DeLeo, A. B., Jay, G., Appella, E., DuBois, G. C., Law, L. W. & Old, L. J. (1979)
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA
76, 2420-2424]. We have now prepared a monoclonal antibody to p53 and have used it to study the occurrence and intracellular location of p53 by indirect immunofluorescence assays. In accordance with the results of immunoprecipitation, these tests showed p53 in all 13 transformed mouse cell lines studied. In each case, p53 was found in the nucleus. No p53 was detected in normal mouse fibroblasts, 3T3 cells, bone marrow cells, thymus cells, or embryo cells. A serologically related protein was detected in the nucleus of human cells by monoclonal antibody and was found in both normal and neoplastic cultured cells. Expression of p53 in human cells correlates with the growth characteristics of the culture, high p53 levels being associated with rapid cell proliferation and low p53 levels, with cessation of cell division. Normal and malignant human cells differ, however, with regard to the effect of confluency on p53 expression. Normal kidney epithelium and fetal brain cells, which express high p53 levels during exponential growth, show a prompt decrease in p53 associated with contact inhibition of cell division. Malignant cells, on the other hand, continue to express p53 after confluency and subsequent overgrowth of the monolayers. These results suggest that p53 may be involved in the normal regulation of cell division and that malignant transformation leads to abnormalities in the control of p53 expression.
Sulfated and nonsulfated glycosaminoglycans and glycopeptides are synthesized by kidney
in vivo
and incorporated into glomerular basement membranes
Authors: Lemkin Margaret C. , Farquhar Marilyn Gist
Published: May 2006

The biosynthesis of glycosaminoglycans (GAG) and glycopeptides was studied in rat kidney cortex, glomeruli, and isolated glomerular basement membranes (GBM). Rats were given four intraperitoneal injections of [
35
S]sulfate and [
3
H]glucosamine (over 10 hr) and sacrificed 14 hr after the last injection. Fractions of kidney glomeruli and purified GBM were prepared. The percent of the label incorporated into specific GAG or into glycopeptides was determined by selective degradative techniques in conjunction with gel filtration chromatography using the methods of Hart [Hart, G. W. (1976)
J. Biol. Chem.
251, 6513-6521; Hart, G. W. (1978)
Dev. Biol.
62, 78-98]. After digestion with Pronase and chromatography on Sephadex G-50, ≈68% of the total
35
S radioactivity and 10-15% of the total
3
H radioactivity incorporated into cortex, glomeruli, or GBM was found in the GAG fraction, and the remainder (≈32% of
35
S radioactivity and 85-90% of the
3
H radioactivity) was found in glycopeptide fractions. Treatment of GAG fractions isolated from the three sources (cortex, glomeruli, and GBM) with nitrous acid (which degrades heparan sulfates) indicated that the majority (85%, 65%, and 87%) of the
35
S radioactivity as well as the majority (60%, 50%, and 91%) of the
3
H radioactivity from all three sources was degraded by this treatment. When nitrous acid-resistant GAG from GBM were subjected to digestion with
Streptomyces
hyaluronidase (which degrades hyaluronic acid), ≈6% of the
3
H-labeled material was sensitive to this treatment. The remaining
35
S- and
3
H-labeled GAG isolated from GBM were digested with chondroitinase ABC (which degrades chondroitin sulfates A and C and dermatan sulfate). Although the ratios of the types of GAG synthesized by all three sources were similar, in GBM the ratios of
35
S- to
3
H-labeled GAG and of
3
H-labeled glycopeptides to
3
H-labeled GAG were higher (2.5 times) than those found for glomeruli. The data demonstrate the synthesis of both sulfated and nonsulfated GAG by rat kidney cortex and glomeruli and their transport to and incorporation into the GBM. Heparan sulfate is the major GAG synthesized by glomeruli, but the glomeruli also synthesize smaller amounts of hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfates, which are in part incorporated into GBM. In addition, the renal cortex and the glomeruli synthesize glycopeptides, some of which are sulfated, and incorporate them into GBM.
Clastogenic activity from Bloom syndrome fibroblast cultures.
Authors: Emerit I , Cerutti P
Published: May 2006

Media from cultures of fibroblasts of six patients with the autosomal recessive disease Bloom syndrome (BS) and from four normal fibroblast strains were analyzed for clastogenic activity towards phytohemagglutinin-stimulated human blood lymphocytes from healthy donors. Clastogenic activity was detected in concentrated ultrafiltrates of media from all six BS strains but none of the normal fibroblast strains. The frequencies of chromosomal aberrations that were induced depended on the concentration of the ultrafiltrates. Addition of bovine superoxide dismutase to the blood lymphocyte cultures strongly suppressed the clastogenic potency of the ultrafiltrates. Unconcentrated conditioned BS media were inactive. From the pore size of the ultrafilters and Sephadex G-10 chromatography it is concluded that the clastogenic material is in the molecular weight range of 1000 to 10,000. The concentrated ultrafiltrates of BS culture media also possessed the capacity to induce sister chromatid exchanges in normal human blood lymphocytes, but with relatively low efficiency. On the basis of these results and by analogy to certain collagen diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, we speculate that BS cells are deficient in the detoxification of active oxygen species.
Elliptical erythrocyte membrane skeletons and heat-sensitive spectrin in hereditary elliptocytosis.
Authors: Tomaselli M B , John K M , Lux S E
Published: May 2006

Erythrocyte membranes (ghosts) and membrane skeletons (submembranous reticula of spectrin, actin, and protein 4.1 prepared by extracting ghosts with Triton X-100) from 15 patients with hereditary elliptocytosis (HE) were elliptical, which indicates that the primary defect responsible for the abnormal shape of these cells resides in the skeleton. The protein composition of HE skeletons was normal, but in three kindreds purified spectrin heterodimer from 7/7 HE patients was heat sensitive and denatured at 48.0 +/- 0.1 degrees C instead of 49.0 +/- 0.3 degrees C (P less than 0.0005). Heat sensitivity was detected by precipitation and, in the spectrin from one patient, by changes in circular dichroism. In one other kindred spectrin dimer from 3/3 patients denatured at the normal temperature. In two of the three kindreds with heat-sensitive spectrin, intact erythrocytes exhibited budding and fragmentation at the temperature at which spectrin denatured. In the third kindred spectrin was heat sensitive, but erythrocytes were not. The symptoms in the latter kindred were clinically more severe (hemolytic HE with spherocytosis) than in the other three (mild HE). We conclude that defects in the erythrocyte membrane skeleton may be a common feature of HE. As judged by heat denaturation of erythrocytes and purified spectrin dimer, three phenotypically distinct forms of HE exist, two of which are characterized by defective, heat-sensitive spectrin. It remains to be determined whether the molecular defect in spectrin responsible for heat sensitivity is the primary genetic defect responsible for HE.
Multiple sites on prostaglandin cyclooxygenase are determinants in the action of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory agents.
Authors: Humes J L , Winter C A , Sadowski S J , Kuehl F A
Published: May 2006

Evidence is presented to show that nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs react with two sites on the cyclooxygenase (8,11,14-eicosatrienoate, hydrogen-donor:oxygen oxidoreductase, EC 1.14.99.1). Although the degree of interaction with the catalytic site determines the potency of such compounds, interaction with the supplementary site is also obligatory for efficacy as cyclooxygenase inhibitors and may explain the selectivity of such drugs in inhibiting the cyclooxygenase but not the lipoxygenase pathway. Drugs that interact more effectively with the supplementary site than with the catalytic site--i.e., those of weak to moderate activity as cyclooxygenase inhibitors--are shown to prevent inhibition of the enzyme by indomethacin. Compounds in this class are also capable of blocking the ulcerogenic action of indomethacin, which suggests that this antiulcerogenic property stems from a direct action at the level of the cyclooxygenase in the stomach.
Overproduction of the free radical of ribonucleotide reductase in hydroxyurea-resistant mouse fibroblast 3T6 cells.
Authors: Akerblom L , Ehrenberg A , Gräslund A , Lankinen H , Reichard P , Thelander L
Published: May 2006

Hydroxyurea inhibits the activity of ribonucleotide reductase (ribonucleoside-diphosphate reductase; 2'-deoxy-ribonucleoside-diphosphate:oxidized-thioredoxin 2'-oxidoreductase, EC 1.17.4.1) in bacteria and mammalian cells. The reductase from Escherichia coli consists of two nonidentical subunits (B1 and B2) and hydroxyurea acts by specifically destroying a tyrosine free radical of B2 required for enzyme activity. The mammalian enzyme also consists of two nonidentical subunits (M1 and M2), only one of which (M1) has been obtained in pure form. By continuous culture at stepwise increasing drug concentrations, we have now obtained a 3T6 mouse fibroblast cell line with a 100-fold increased resistance to hydroxyurea. Extracts from resistant cells showed a 3- to 15-fold increase in reductase activity. The amount of M1 protein was not increased. The amount of M2 protein could not be measured directly, but the M2 activity in extracts from resistant cells (but not normal cells) showed an EPR spectrum very similar to that of the tyrosine radical of the bacterial B2 subunit. We propose that resistance to hydroxyurea is caused either by overproduction of the complete M2 subunit or by increased generation of the tyrosine radical within the M2 protein. It seems that either alternative mirrors a possible normal regulatory mechanism for the activity of the reductase.
Nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles probed in living cells.
Authors: Mayrand S , Pederson T
Published: May 2006

Contacts between heterogeneous nuclear RNA (hnRNA) and protein in nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles have been photochemically crosslinked in intact HeLa or Friend erythroleukemia cell by irradiation with 254-nm light at doses of 10(1) to 10(5) ergs/mm2 (1 to 10(4) microJ/mm2). The resulting crosslinked particles were isolated and compared with conventional hnRNA . protein (hnRNP) preparations. By the criteria of nuclear fractionation behavior, sedimentation coefficients, nuclease digestion profiles, and RNA-to-protein ratio measured by banding in Cs2SO4 density gradients, the hnRNP particles crosslinked in vivo are identical to nonirradiated particles. Gel blot hybridization of RNA from Friend cell hnRNP crosslinked in vivo reveals that beta-globin RNA sequences remain both intact and hybridizable after the irradiation procedure. The crosslinked hnRNA--protein bonds are stable in 8 M urea/0.5% sodium dodecyl sulfate and withstand centrifugation in Cs2SO4 gradients of initial density 1.50 g/cm3. These results establish that hnRNA is tightly complexed with nuclear proteins in vivo and that hnRNP particles isolated by nuclear fractionation represent native structures.
Deficiency of low density lipoprotein receptors in liver and adrenal gland of the WHHL rabbit, an animal model of familial hypercholesterolemia.
Authors: Kita T , Brown M S , Watanabe Y , Goldstein J L
Published: May 2006

The WHHL (Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic) rabbit has been proposed as an animal model for human familial hypercholesterolemia. Homozygous WHHL rabbits have marked increases in the plasma level of low density lipoprotein (LDL), removal of LDL from their plasma is delayed, and LDL receptors are absent from their cultured fibroblasts [Tanzawa, K., Shimada, Y., Kuroda, M., Tsujita, Y., Arai, M. & Watanabe, Y. (1980) FEBS Lett. 118, 81--84]. We here report that membranes from the liver and adrenal gland of WHHL rabbits lack high-affinity LDL receptors. In normal rabbit membranes, binding of LDL to this receptor required calcium and is inhibited by EDTA. The LDL receptor binds rabbit 125I-labeled beta-migrating very low density lipoprotein (beta-VLDL), which contains apoproteins B and E, as well as rabbit 125I-labeled LDL, which contains only apoprotein B. It does not bind high density lipoprotein or methyl-LDL. All of these properties are identical with those of the LDL receptor of cultured fibroblasts. We conclude that a deficiency of hepatic and adrenal LDL receptors contributes to the hypercholesterolemia of the WHHL rabbits.