bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Developmental changes in estrogen-sensitive neurons in the forebrain of the zebra finch.
Authors: Gahr M , Konishi M
Published: May 2006

The brain areas for the control of song are sexually dimorphic in the zebra finch (Poephila guttata). Implantation of estrogen in young females within the first 40 days after hatching masculinizes their brain song areas. Monoclonal antibody (H222Sp gamma) against the estrogen receptor was used for the localization of estrogen-target cells in the brain. The nucleus hyperstriatum ventrale, pars caudale, was the only song control area that contained cells with estrogen-receptor sites. The number of these cells varied during ontogeny and declined sharply after day 40. No other song areas contained estrogen-target cells despite their ability to undergo masculine differentiation under the influence of estrogen. Therefore, the action of estrogen on these nuclei must be indirect.
Purified ryanodine receptor of skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum forms Ca2+-activated oligomeric Ca2+ channels in planar bilayers.
Authors: Hymel L , Inui M , Fleischer S , Schindler H
Published: May 2006

The ryanodine receptor of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) from fast-twitch skeletal muscle has been purified and found by electron microscopy to be equivalent to the feet structures that are involved in situ in the junctional association of transverse tubules with terminal cisternae of SR. We now find that when the purified receptor is incorporated into vesicle-derived planar bilayers, it forms Ca2+-specific channels, which are dependent on submicromolar Ca2+ for activity. In the presence of 1 mM ATP, the channel shows essentially no activity at 10 nM Ca2+ but becomes highly activated at 50 nM Ca2+. At suboptimal Ca2+ levels (100 nM), the channel is strongly activated by 1 mM ATP and can be blocked by ruthenium red, both effects being prevented by higher Ca2+ levels (1 microM). Mg2+, added from the cis side at millimolar concentrations, blocks Ca2+ flux through the channel from trans to cis (equivalent to flux from luminal to myoplasmic compartment). Ryanodine stabilizes the open state of the channel and blocks the action of ruthenium red to close the channel. Thus, the purified ryanodine receptor incorporated into a bilayer has the Ca2+-channel characteristics consistent with the calcium release observed in isolated terminal cisternae vesicles. Furthermore, ryanodine induced the appearance of a sublevel gating mode characterized by long open conductance states, which were integral multiples of the smallest observed conductance, 3.8 pS in 50 mM Ca2+. The purified receptor consists essentially of a single-sized high molecular weight polypeptide (Mr. approximately equal to 360,000), which on reconstitution forms the square rectangles diagnostic of the feet structures. We conclude that the identity of the Ca2+-release channel of SR is the foot structure, which consists of an oligomer of the high molecular weight polypeptide.
Mass mortality of a Caribbean sea urchin: Immediate effects on community metabolism and other herbivores
Authors: Carpenter Robert C.
Published: May 2006

The echinoid
Diadema antillarum
Philippi was an important herbivore in many areas of the Caribbean prior to the mass mortality that eliminated 95-99% of the individuals throughout the Caribbean in 1983-84. Five days after the mass mortality in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, algal biomass increased by 20% and algal community primary productivity dropped on both a per unit area basis (37% decrease) and per unit algal biomass basis (61% decrease). This accompanied a 50% decrease in the amount of algal biomass removed by herbivores. Concurrent with the changes in the algal community were increases in the rates of grazing by herbivorous fishes, suggesting that exploitative competition for food was occurring between
D. antillarum
and some herbivorous fish species. These results suggest that
D. antillarum
has an important role in structuring both the producer and consumer components of Caribbean coral reef ecosystems.
Direct sequencing of enzymatically amplified human genomic DNA.
Authors: Engelke D R , Hoener P A , Collins F S
Published: May 2006

The polymerase chain reaction is a recently described technique that uses flanking oligonucleotide primers and repeated cycles of enzymatic primer extension to amplify a short segment of DNA by greater than 100,000-fold. By use of sequencing primers located internal to the amplification primers, direct genomic sequence was obtained from enzymatically amplified DNA by using the dideoxynucleotide chain-termination method. The method is relatively simple and offers significant advantages in identifying mutations in genes for which the normal sequence is known. Heterozygous and homozygous mutations in the human beta- and gamma-globin loci were unambiguously identified in 3 days with less than 1 microgram of genomic DNA.
Molecular mapping of signals in the Qa-2 antigen required for attachment of the phosphatidylinositol membrane anchor.
Authors: Waneck G L , Sherman D H , Kincade P W , Low M G , Flavell R A
Published: May 2006

Proteins anchored in the membrane by covalent linkage to phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) can be released by treatment with purified PtdIns-specific phospholipase C (Ptd-Ins-PLC). A recent survey of leukocyte antigens using flow cytometry has shown that staining of certain Qa antigens was diminished after PtdIns-PLC treatment, but staining of structurally related H-2 antigens was not affected. Therefore, in this study, the sensitivity of cell-surface Qa-2, H-2Kb, and H-2Db to hydrolysis by PtdIns-PLC was investigated biochemically by immunoprecipitation of radioiodinated molecules from cell lysates or supernatants. Qa-2, but not H-2Kb, was released from the surface of PtdIns-PLC-treated C57BL/10 mouse spleen cells and recovered in the cell supernatants. Similar analysis of thymoma cells transfected with cloned C57BL/10 genes showed that cell-surface Qa-2 molecules encoded by a Q7b cDNA and the Q7b or Q9b gene were sensitive to hydrolysis by PtdIns-PLC, whereas the H-2Kb and H-2Db gene products were resistant. Using thymoma cells transfected with hybrid genes constructed by exchanging exons between Q7b and H-2Db, the signals for PtdIns modification were localized to a defined region of Qa-2. This region differs from H-2Db most significantly by the presence of a central aspartate residue in the transmembrane segment and in the length of the cytoplasmic portion.
Genetic deficiency of the alpha subunit of the guanine nucleotide-binding protein Gs as the molecular basis for Albright hereditary osteodystrophy.
Authors: Levine M A , Ahn T G , Klupt S F , Kaufman K D , Smallwood P M , Bourne H R , Sullivan K A , Van Dop C
Published: May 2006

Patients who have pseudohypoparathyroidism type I associated with Albright hereditary osteodystrophy commonly have a genetic deficiency of the alpha subunit of the G protein that stimulates adenylyl cyclase (alpha Gs) (ATP pyrophosphate-lyase, EC 4.6.1.1). To discover the molecular mechanism that causes alpha Gs deficiency in these patients, we examined eight kindreds with one or more members affected with Albright hereditary osteodystrophy or pseudohypoparathyroidism and alpha Gs deficiency. In these families, alpha Gs deficiency and the Albright hereditary osteodystrophy phenotype were transmitted together in a dominant inheritance pattern. Using a cDNA hybridization probe for alpha Gs, restriction analysis with several endonucleases showed no abnormalities of restriction fragments or gene dosage. RNA blot and dot blot analysis of total RNA from cultured fibroblasts obtained from the patients revealed approximately equal to 50% reduced mRNA levels for alpha Gs in affected members of six of the pedigrees but normal levels in affected members of the two other pedigrees, compared to mRNA levels in fibroblasts from unaffected individuals. By contrast, mRNA levels encoding the alpha subunit of the G protein that inhibits adenylyl cyclase were not altered. Our findings suggest that several molecular mechanisms produce alpha Gs deficiency in patients with pseudohypoparathyroidism type Ia and that major gene rearrangements or deletions are not a common cause for alpha Gs deficiency in pseudohypoparathyroidism type I.
Transferrin receptors in rat plasma.
Authors: Beguin Y , Huebers H A , Josephson B , Finch C A
Published: May 2006

Antigenic material in rat plasma reacting with rat transferrin receptor antibodies was identified as an intact receptor molecule complexed with transferrin. Plasma transferrin receptors were measured by ELISA in rats of different age and sex, of different iron status, with different degrees of erythropoiesis, and with inflammation. An inverse relationship between iron status and receptor number was found, whereas a direct relationship existed between erythropoiesis and receptors. These changes in receptor number can be explained by assuming that the number of tissue receptors determined the number of plasma receptors and that the erythroid cells possessed most of the body's receptors. Increases in plasma receptors lagged behind the appearance of circulating reticulocytes, suggesting that receptors were released to the plasma during the terminal phase of erythrocyte maturation.
In vitro assembly of a functional nucleocapsid from the negative-stranded genome RNA of a defective interfering particle of vesicular stomatitis virus.
Authors: Mirakhur B , Peluso R W
Published: May 2006

The template for transcription and replication of negative-stranded RNA viruses is a ribonucleoprotein structure, the nucleocapsid. We have developed a system that supports assembly of the negative-stranded RNA genome of a defective interfering (DI) particle of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) into a nucleocapsid in vitro. This system uses extracts from wild-type VSV-infected cells as a source of proteins to encapsidate the RNA. In vitro assembled nucleocapsids were compared to in vivo-derived nucleocapsids by the following characteristics: nuclease resistance of the encapsidated RNA, CsCl density banding of labeled RNA in a position coincident with nucleocapsids, correct sedimentation rate in sucrose gradients, the presence of the nucleocapsid protein on the nucleocapsids, and the infectivity of the in vitro assembled nucleocapsids. We conclude that the system we present is capable of assembling the isolated genome of a rhabdovirus DI particle into nucleocapsids indistinguishable from those produced during the course of intracellular DI replication.
Localized maternal mRNA related to transforming growth factor beta mRNA is concentrated in a cytokeratin-enriched fraction from Xenopus oocytes.
Authors: Pondel M D , King M L
Published: May 2006

The localized maternal RNA Vg1 resides in the cortical region of the vegetal pole of fully grown Xenopus oocytes and is inherited by only a subset of blastomeres in the early embryo [Weeks, D. L. & Melton, D. A. (1987) Cell 51, 861-867]. Because RNA-cytoskeletal interactions may play a role in RNA localization, we have examined the association of Vg1 RNA with components of the oocyte's cytoskeleton. Gel and immunoblot analysis of a detergent-insoluble fraction revealed a greatly simplified protein pattern composed largely of cytokeratins and vimentin. In sharp contrast to the nonlocalized histone H3 mRNA, Vg1 RNA was concentrated some 35- to 50-fold in this insoluble fraction. Extractions at higher salt concentrations yielded preparations further enriched in cytokeratins and in the Vg1 RNA. Upon ovulation, VG1 RNA is released into the soluble fraction. This change in Vg1 RNA distribution coincides with the observed breakdown of cortical cytokeratin filaments [Klymkowsky, M. W., Maynell, L. A. & Polson, A. G. (1987) Development 100, 543-557] and the loss of Vg1 RNA from the cortical region. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that RNA-cytoskeletal interactions are involved in the localization and segregation of information during development.
Structure of the gene for the liver cell adhesion molecule, L-CAM.
Authors: Sorkin B C , Hemperly J J , Edelman G M , Cunningham B A
Published: May 2006

The liver cell adhesion molecule, L-CAM, mediates calcium-dependent cell-cell adhesion in early embryos and in nonneural epithelia in adult tissues. Earlier studies of cDNAs for chicken L-CAM established the amino acid sequence of the mature protein. The sequence has now been extended in the 5' direction through the precursor and signal sequences and past a consensus translation initiation site. The combined cDNAs were used to isolate genomic clones covering the entire L-CAM coding sequence. The structural gene for chicken L-CAM contains 16 exons ranging in size from 115 to over 1045 base pairs with an average size of 222 base pairs. Single exons do not correspond to known structural elements such as the signal sequence, precursor segment, internal repeats, or membrane-spanning region of L-CAM. Hybridization of restriction digests of chicken genomic DNA with cDNA and genomic probes indicated that there is a single L-CAM gene in the chicken. In contrast to genes for other cell-cell or cell-substrate adhesion molecules, there is no evidence for alternative splicing of exons in this gene.
Evidence that the effector mechanism of skin allograft rejection is antigen-specific.
Authors: Rosenberg A S , Singer A
Published: May 2006

In vivo rejection responses are initiated by specific T-cell recognition of foreign histocompatibility antigens expressed by tissue allografts, but it is not certain if the effector mechanism mediating the actual tissue injury is also antigen-specific. To directly assess the specificity of the effector phase of in vivo rejection responses, we constructed B6 in equilibrium with A/J allophenic mice that are genetic mosaics whose individual cells express either H-2b or H-2a histocompatibility antigens but not both. Trunk skin from B6 in equilibrium with A/J allophenic mice was grafted onto immunoincompetent H-2b nude mice and allowed to heal and regrow hair that was both black and white, reflecting the genetic mosaicism of the allophenic grafts. One month after engraftment, the H-2b nude animals were reconstituted with syngeneic H-2b T cells reactive against H-2a allodeterminants. An obvious rejection response ensued involving antigen-nonspecific inflammatory destruction of the epidermis and complete hair loss. Despite the intensity of the nonspecific inflammatory response, the allophenic skin grafts survived. Importantly, the allophenic grafts regrew hair and the predominant color of that hair was black, providing visual proof that syngeneic B6 melanocytes and hair follicle cells had not been destroyed. Thus, these results demonstrate that although the intense inflammatory component of skin graft rejection responses is capable of damaging superficial epidermal cells nonspecifically, it does not cause rejection of skin allografts. Rather, rejection of skin allografts is mediated by antigen-specific effector T cells that assess individual cells within the dermis of the graft for expression of foreign histocompatibility antigens.
Cyclic AMP and phorbol ester-stimulated transcription mediated by similar DNA elements that bind distinct proteins.
Authors: Deutsch P J , Hoeffler J P , Jameson J L , Habener J F
Published: May 2006

cAMP and phorbol esters mediate cellular metabolism by the activation of distinct signal transduction pathways consisting of a cascade of sequential protein phosphorylations. An important consequence of the activation of these pathways is the stimulation of gene transcription by way of interactions of specific proteins with DNA control elements. The 8-base-pair (bp) DNA consensus sequence TGACGTCA [cAMP response element (cAMP-RE)] has been shown to confer cAMP responsivity on transcription from various promoters, and the closely related 7-bp consensus sequence TGA-(C or G)TCA [phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate response element (PMA-RE)] lends transcriptional responsiveness to phorbol esters. In the JEG-3 placental cell line we find that several variants of the cAMP-REs fused to a gonadotropin alpha promoter chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene mediate responsiveness to cAMP but not to phorbol esters. The PMA-RE is responsive to phorbol esters but also imparts submaximal sensitivity to cAMP in the JEG-3 cells and in the Hep G2 hepatoma cell line. The transcriptional activities of cAMP-RE and PMA-RE are markedly influenced by the composition of the neighboring bases, but different sequences are permissive for the activity of the cAMP-RE versus the PMA-RE. The two signaling agents together display a supraadditive effect on reporter genes containing active PMA-REs but not cAMP-REs. Gel-mobility-shift and UV cross-linking analyses show that distinct proteins bind to the two control elements. One protein of 38 kDa binds to the cAMP-RE and several proteins of 48-84 kDa bind to the PMA-RE.
Light-mediated changes in two proteins found associated with plasma membrane fractions from pea stem sections
Authors: Gallagher Sean , Short Timothy W. , Ray Peter M. , Pratt Lee H. , Briggs Winslow R.
Published: May 2006

Irradiation of etiolated pea (
Pisum sativum
L.) seedlings with white light affects two proteins, both of monomer molecular mass near 120 kDa. Both proteins have been detected in association with plasma membrane fractions. The first is identifiable in that it becomes heavily phosphorylated when the membranes are incubated with exogenous ATP. The second of these proteins is phytochrome, as determined by electrophoretic transfer (Western) blot analysis. Measurable phosphorylation and phytochrome (the latter detected by antigenicity) decline when the tissue is irradiated with white light prior to membrane isolation and
in vitro
phosphorylation. The phosphorylated protein is probably not phytochrome for three reasons. (
i
) It shows a slightly different distribution in sucrose gradients. (
ii
) Red light causes a gradual decline in the phytochrome that is associated with membrane fractions but has a negligible effect on the phosphorylatable protein; blue light, on the other hand, causes significantly slower loss of phytochrome than does red light but brings about a rapid decline in the phosphorylation signal. (
iii
) The molecular masses are not identical. The association of both proteins with membrane fractions is probably neither ionic nor, at least for the phosphorylatable protein, the consequence of entrapment of soluble proteins in vesicles formed during tissue extraction. Phytochrome is lost from the membrane fractions during irradiation, as judged by loss of antigenicity. Whether the phosphorylatable protein is lost, a specific kinase is lost, phosphatase activity increases, or phosphorylatable sites are blocked as a consequence of blue light treatment is not known.
Dilute suppressor dsu acts semidominantly to suppress the coat color phenotype of a deletion mutation, dl20J, of the murine dilute locus.
Authors: Moore K J , Seperack P K , Strobel M C , Swing D A , Copeland N G , Jenkins N A
Published: May 2006

The murine dilute suppressor (dsu) gene is the only unlinked trans-acting suppressor identified in mammals. dsu, which was originally reported to be recessive, was recognized by its ability to suppress the coat color phenotype of a retroviral insertion mutation, dv, of the murine dilute (d) locus. This insertion mutation resulted from the integration of an ecotropic murine leukemia virus into noncoding sequences of the dilute gene. Therefore, dsu may act like other allele-specific recessive suppressors identified in Drosophila melanogaster and yeast that suppress mutations induced by retrotransposon insertions. To investigate this possibility, we have examined whether dsu could suppress a spontaneously arising allele of d, dl20J, which is shown here to result from a 3.5-kilobase deletion. These studies indicate that dsu does not function like other eukaryotic suppressor genes that suppress retrotransposon-induced mutations. We also show that dsu is not, as originally reported, a recessive gene but is semidominantly inherited. Collectively, these results allow us to propose a mechanism for the suppressor activity of dsu.
Cyclic AMP--an intracellular second messenger for interleukin 1.
Authors: Shirakawa F , Yamashita U , Chedid M , Mizel S B
Published: May 2006

We demonstrated that interleukin 1 (IL-1), a potent peptide mediator in immune and inflammatory responses, stimulates the synthesis of cAMP in a variety of IL-1-responsive cell targets. We also showed that cAMP analogs and cAMP-inducing agents can replace IL-1 in the induction of interleukin 2 receptors on lymphocytes as well as in phytohemagglutinin-induced murine thymocyte proliferation. By use of IL-1 and the cAMP-inducer, forskolin, a direct correlation between the induced level of cAMP and the degree of lymphocyte interleukin 2 receptor expression or thymocyte proliferation was established. Our results indicate that cAMP may be an important intracellular second messenger for IL-1.
Negative and positive site-site interactions, and their modulation by pH, insulin analogs, and monoclonal antibodies, are preserved in the purified insulin receptor.
Authors: Wang C C , Goldfine I D , Fujita-Yamaguchi Y , Gattner H G , Brandenburg D , De Meyts P
Published: May 2006

The kinetic properties of the insulin receptor were studied in solution after its purification to homogeneity. Dissociation of 125I-labeled insulin at a 1:50 dilution was not first order; unlabeled insulin at physiological concentrations accelerated the dissociation rate with a maximal effect at approximately 17 nM. At higher concentrations, the unlabeled insulin slowed the dissociation rate. Maximal acceleration was seen at pH 8.0. The ability to accelerate the dissociation rate was diminished with [LeuB24]insulin and suppressed with desoctapeptide, [LeuB25], [LeuB24,B25], desalanine-desasparagine, and desheptapeptide insulins, all of which slowed the dissociation at high concentrations. Monoclonal antibodies to the insulin receptor alpha subunit (MA-5, MA-10, MA-20, and MA-51) all competed for insulin binding to the purified receptor. MA-10 and MA-51 accelerated the dissociation of 125I-labeled insulin, while MA-5 and MA-20 slowed the off rate. Thus, all the aspects of both negatively and positively cooperative site-site interactions previously described in whole cells are present in solubilized purified receptors, demonstrating that these interactions represent intrinsic properties of the receptor molecule, most likely as a result of ligand-induced conformational changes.
Statistical effects in the absorption and optical activity of particulate suspensions.
Authors: Bustamante C , Maestre M F
Published: May 2006

The phenomenon of Duysens flattening of the absorption spectra resulting from the inhomogeneous distribution of the chromophores in the solution is analyzed. These inhomogeneities are treated as localized statistical fluctuations in the concentration of the absorbing species, by using the Gaussian distribution. A law of absorbance is obtained, and the effect of light scattering on the flattening is also characterized. The flattening in the circular dichroism spectra of particulate suspensions is then analyzed. It is shown that the degree of flattening of the circular dichroism of a suspension is, in general, different from the corresponding flattening of its absorption spectrum. A quantitative relationship between the two effects is established.
Structure of the reaction center from Rhodobacter sphaeroides R-26: protein-cofactor (quinones and Fe2+) interactions.
Authors: Allen J P , Feher G , Yeates T O , Komiya H , Rees D C
Published: May 2006

The three-dimensional structure of the reaction center (RC) from Rhodobacter sphaeroides has been determined by x-ray diffraction to a resolution of 2.8 A with an R value of 24%. The interactions of the protein with the primary quinone, QA, secondary quinone, QB, and the nonheme iron are described and compared to those of RCs from Rhodopseudomonas viridis. Structural differences between the QA and QB environments that contribute to the function of the quinones (the electron transfer from QA- to QB and the charge recombination of QA-, QB- with the primary donor) are delineated. The protein residues that may be involved in the protonation of QB are identified. A pathway for the doubly reduced QB to dissociate from the RC is proposed. The interactions between QB and the residues that have been changed in herbicide-resistant mutants are described. The environment of the nonheme iron is compared to the environments of metal ions in other proteins.
Addition of a foreign oligopeptide to the major capsid protein of poliovirus.
Authors: Colbère-Garapin F , Christodoulou C , Crainic R , Garapin A C , Candrea A
Published: May 2006

Insertion mutants of type 3 poliovirus (Sabin strain) were constructed that encode additional amino acid sequences at the level of residue 100 of the capsid polypeptide VP1 within the neutralization site 1, corresponding to a loop on the capsid surface. The addition of a tri- or hexapeptide did not hamper virus viability. The antigenic pattern of insertion mutants was only modified locally: all mutants lost reactivity of neutralization site 1 with the corresponding monoclonal antibodies, while the reactivity of sites 2 and 3 was unaffected by the insertion. We have shown for one of the mutants--vFG68--that the antigenic specificity of the neutralization site 1 was replaced by a new one. Although vFG68 differs from its parental Sabin strain only by the addition of three amino acids within VP1, neutralizing antibodies specific for vFG68 were induced by the native virion as well as by the heat-denatured mutated virions. Our results demonstrate that an oligopeptide of three or six amino acids can lengthen VP1 at the level of antigenic site 1 without affecting virus multiplication and that this foreign peptide is exposed on the virion surface.
Synergism at central synapses due to lateral diffusion of transmitter.
Authors: Faber D S , Korn H
Published: May 2006

Recordings of inhibitory postsynaptic currents in the goldfish (Carassius auratus) Mauthner cell demonstrate nonlinear interactions when adjacent synapses are coactivated. Responses evoked by single presynaptic neurons were paired with those due to activation of a limited pool of similar inhibitory cells. In about 50% of the experiments the compound currents were substantially larger than the sum of their individual components. Potentiation was maximal when the two responses occurred nearly simultaneously, and its decay paralleled that of the conditioning current; it started with a delay of about 300 microsec, and calculations indicate that in this time transmitter molecules would diffuse laterally 0.5-1.1 micron, which equals the separation of adjacent synapses. Iontophoretically applied glycine produced a comparable enhancement of the eighth nerve evoked inhibitory current. When quantal inhibitory responses were simulated, taking into consideration glycine diffusion, transmitter-receptor interactions, and channel activation, with the latter requiring two binding steps, the results demonstrated that the facilitation when neighboring inputs are active is due to lateral diffusion of the transmitter, glycine, to fringe areas where single bound receptors are available for further interactions and channel opening.
Milk lipid globules: control of their size distribution.
Authors: Valivullah H M , Bevan D R , Peat A , Keenan T W
Published: May 2006

Micro lipid droplets fuse with each other in vivo to form larger precursors of milk lipid globules. The extent of fusion dictates the size range of lipid globules in milk. A cell-free system in which micro lipid droplet fusion can be induced has been developed. Fusion was promoted by calcium and a protein complex from cytosol. Exogenously supplied gangliosides were potent fusion-promoting agents. Endogenous gangliosides were detected on micro lipid droplet surfaces by immunocytochemical localization. Monoclonal antibody to disialyllactosylceramide (GD3) inhibited micro lipid droplet fusion. These observations are suggestive of a role for gangliosides in micro lipid droplet fusion in situ.
Complete amino acid sequence of human placental protein 14: a progesterone-regulated uterine protein homologous to beta-lactoglobulins.
Authors: Julkunen M , Seppälä M , Jänne O A
Published: May 2006

Placental protein 14 (PP14), also known as progestagen-dependent endometrial protein and pregnancy-associated endometrial alpha 2-globulin, is synthesized by the human secretory endometrium and decidua. We have isolated from a human decidual cDNA library clones corresponding to PP14 and deduced its entire amino acid sequence. PP14 contains 180 amino acids, 18 of which correspond to a putative signal peptide. The predicted molecular weight of the pre-PP14 is 20,555 and that of the mature protein is 18,787. PP14 is encoded by a 1-kilobase-pair mRNA that is expressed in human secretory endometrium and decidua but not in postmenopausal endometrium, placenta, liver, kidney, and adrenals. The 162-residue-long sequence of PP14 is highly homologous to beta-lactoglobulins, with a 53.4% identity with the amino acid sequence of horse beta-lactoglobulin I. The four cysteinyl residues (positions 66, 106, 119, and 160) responsible for intramolecular disulfide bridges in beta-lactoglobulins are all conserved in PP14. Southern blot analysis of human DNA suggested that PP14 gene sequences encompass some 20 kilobase pairs of the human genomic DNA.
A mutant human proinsulin is secreted from islets of Langerhans in increased amounts via an unregulated pathway.
Authors: Carroll R J , Hammer R E , Chan S J , Swift H H , Rubenstein A H , Steiner D F
Published: May 2006

A coding mutation in the human insulin gene (His-B10----Asp) is associated with familial hyperproinsulinemia. To model this syndrome, we have produced transgenic mice that express high levels of the mutant prohormone in their islets of Langerhans. Strain 24-6 mice, containing about 100 copies of the mutant gene, were normoglycemic but had marked increases of serum human proinsulin immunoreactive components. Biosynthetic studies on isolated islets revealed that approximately 65% of the proinsulin synthesized in these mice was the human mutant form. Unlike the normal endogenous mouse proinsulin, which was almost exclusively handled via a regulated secretory pathway, up to 15% of the human [Asp10]proinsulin was rapidly secreted after synthesis via an unregulated or constitutive pathway, and approximately 20% was degraded within the islet cells. The secreted human [Asp10]proinsulin was not processed proteolytically. However, the processing of the normal mouse and human mutant proinsulins within the islets from transgenic mice was not significantly impaired. These findings suggest that the hyperproinsulinemia of the patients is the result of the continuous secretion of unprocessed mutant prohormone from the islets via this alternative unregulated pathway.
Inhibition of H+-transporting ATPase by formation of a tight nucleoside diphosphate-fluoroaluminate complex at the catalytic site.
Authors: Lunardi J , Dupuis A , Garin J , Issartel J P , Michel L , Chabre M , Vignais P V
Published: May 2006

Inhibition of the mitochondrial and bacterial F1-type ATPases [of ATP phosphohydrolase (H+-transporting), EC 3.6.1.34] by fluoride was found to depend on the presence of aluminum and ADP at the catalytic site(s) of F1-type ATPase. AIF-4 was demonstrated to be the active fluoroaluminate species. The identical pattern of inhibition of F1-type ATPase activity obtained in the presence of ADP and NaF with beryllium, a metal that forms fluoride complexes strictly tetracoordinated, suggests that aluminum acts through a tetrahedral complex. Inhibition of isolated F1-type ATPase by AIF-4 in the presence of ADP cannot be reversed by ADP, ATP, or chelators of aluminum. However, the inhibition of the ATPase activity of the F1 sector in submitochondrial particles caused by AIF-4 and ADP was reversed upon addition of an oxidizable substrate. Uncouplers prevented the reversal of inhibition, suggesting that the protonmotive force generated by respiration was responsible for the relief of inhibition. Because of structural similarities between AIF4- and , AIF4- is postulated to mimic the phosphate group of ATP and form an abortive complex with ADP at the active site(s) of F1-type ATPase.
Multiple genes encode nuclear factor 1-like proteins that bind to the promoter for 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase.
Authors: Gil G , Smith J R , Goldstein J L , Slaughter C A , Orth K , Brown M S , Osborne T F
Published: May 2006

DNA-binding proteins of the nuclear factor 1 (NF1) family recognize sequences containing TGG. Two of these proteins, termed reductase promoter factor (RPF) proteins A and B, bind to the promoter for hamster 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase, a negatively regulated enzyme in cholesterol biosynthesis. In the current study, we determined the sequences of peptides derived from hamster RPF proteins A and B and used this information to isolate a cDNA, designated pNF1/Red1, that encodes RPF protein B. The peptide sequence of RPF protein A, the other reductase-related protein, suggests that it is the hamster equivalent of NF1/L, which was previously cloned from rat liver. We also isolated a hamster cDNA for an additional member of the NF1 family, designated NF1/X. Thus, the hamster genome contains at least three genes for NF1-like proteins. It is likely to contain a fourth gene, corresponding to NF1/CTF, which was previously cloned from the human. The NH2-terminal sequences of all four NF1-like proteins (NF1/Red1, NF1/L, NF1/X, and NF1/CTF), which are virtually identical, contain the DNA-binding domain that recognizes TGG. Functional diversity may arise from differences in the COOH-terminal sequences. We hypothesize that the COOH-terminal domain interacts with adjacent DNA-binding proteins, thereby stabilizing the binding of a particular NF1-like protein to a particular promoter. This protein-protein interaction confers specificity to a class of proteins whose DNA-recognition sequence is widespread in the genome. Sterols may repress transcription of the reductase gene by disrupting this protein-protein interaction.
Multiple protein 4.1 isoforms produced by alternative splicing in human erythroid cells.
Authors: Conboy J G , Chan J , Mohandas N , Kan Y W
Published: May 2006

Protein 4.1 is a multifunctional structural protein located in the erythrocyte membrane skeleton and in many nonerythroid cells. Molecular characterization of cloned protein 4.1 sequences from human reticulocytes has revealed the existence of multiple transcripts of the protein 4.1 gene that may encode a family of closely related protein isoforms. Several independently isolated cDNAs were sequenced and demonstrated to encode four different protein 4.1 species having identical primary sequences, except for the presence or absence of discrete peptides in the 8-kDa spectrin/actin binding domain (21 amino acids) and near the carboxyl terminus (43 and 34 amino acids). The same four protein 4.1 isoforms were detected when reticulocyte protein 4.1 mRNA sequences were reverse transcribed into cDNA and enzymatically amplified in vitro by using protein 4.1-specific oligonucleotide primers and the polymerase chain reaction. The finding of multiple protein 4.1 isoforms raises the possibility that the many binding functions ascribed to protein 4.1 may reside in distinct structural isoforms. Since only a single protein 4.1 gene appears to be expressed in erythrocytes, it is likely that these isoforms are produced by alternative mRNA splicing from a common protein 4.1 pre-mRNA. Multiple RNA splicing pathways are thus operative in the protein 4.1 gene even within a single cell lineage, human erythroid cells.
Localization of human ERBA2 to the 3p22----3p24.1 region of chromosome 3 and variable deletion in small cell lung cancer.
Authors: Drabkin H , Kao F T , Hartz J , Hart I , Gazdar A , Weinberger C , Evans R , Gerber M
Published: May 2006

Human genes homologous to the v-erbA oncogene of avian erythroblastosis virus have been mapped to at least two human chromosomes. Recently, the ERBA2 gene was shown to encode a thyroid hormone receptor and localized to chromosome 3 by using flow-sorted chromosomes. We now demonstrate that this gene is located at 3p22----3p24.1, using both somatic cell hybrids and in situ hybridization studies. Since this localization is close to the distal border of the small cell lung cancer (SCLC) 3p14----3p23 deletion, we undertook additional studies to examine the ERBA2 gene in SCLC. Using somatic cell hybrids constructed from the SCLC line NCI-H182 as well as matched patient tumor and control tissue samples, we found that ERBA2 is variably deleted. Therefore, ERBA2 defines at the molecular level the distal border of the SCLC deletion and further implies that the putative suppressor gene is located centromeric of this locus. We also determined that, at least in NCI-H182, the 3p14 breakpoint is proximal to the constitutive 3p14.2 fragile site. These studies would indicate that the mechanism or initiation site of chromosomal rearrangement in SCLC is different from that which occurs during induction of the 3p14 fragile site by aphidicolin.
Stress-induced alterations of immunity in hypophysectomized rats.
Authors: Keller S E , Schleifer S J , Liotta A S , Bond R N , Farhoody N , Stein M
Published: May 2006

Stress-induced suppression of mitogen-induced lymphocyte proliferation was demonstrated in hypophysectomized rats. Stress effects on the numbers of peripheral blood lymphocytes and lymphocyte subsets and on splenic natural killer cell activity require the presence of pituitary. A pituitary-dependent restraining influence on stress-induced alteration of immunity is described. These results indicate that stress-induced modulation of immunity is complex and includes a range of enhancing and inhibitory mechanisms.
Repeated B motifs in the human immunodeficiency virus type I long terminal repeat enhancer region do not exhibit cooperative factor binding.
Authors: Gaynor R B , Kuwabara M D , Wu F K , Garcia J A , Harrich D , Briskin M , Wall R , Sigman D S
Published: May 2006

The enhancer element of the human immunodeficiency virus type I (HIV-I) long terminal repeat (LTR) contains two copies of nearly identical sequences AGGGACTTTCC (3G sequence) and GGGGACTTTCC (4G sequence) that are important in transcriptional regulation. A single copy of the 4G sequence is found in the NF-kappa B site of the immunoglobulin kappa-chain enhancer. Only the 4G motif in the HIV enhancer is bound by cellular proteins in extracts prepared from unstimulated HeLa cells, whereas the 3G and 4G motifs are bound by factors in extracts prepared from HeLa cells treated with phorbol esters [phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)] and lymphoid cells. To determine if this change in binding to the HIV enhancer was due to phosphorylation of a cellular protein, partially purified PMA-treated HeLa nuclear extracts were digested with calf intestinal phosphatase. Phosphatase digestion of nuclear extracts from PMA-treated HeLa cells markedly decreased factor binding to the HIV enhancer. Accordingly, phosphorylation of the DNA binding protein itself, or an inhibitor protein present in the partially purified extract, must mediate binding to the recognition sequence. Binding studies confirmed that each of the enhancer sequences was capable of binding factors independent of the activity of the other site and that the HIV enhancer was occupied by only one factor at any one time. Chloramphenicol acetyltransferase assays using mutants in either one or both HIV enhancer repeats revealed that each site was capable of functioning as a tat-inducible enhancer element in PMA-treated HeLa cells. These results suggest that the 3G and 4G motifs in the HIV enhancer function independently and that duplication in the HIV enhancer augments activity by a mechanism distinct from cooperative binding of NF-kappa B.
T4 endonuclease VII cleaves the crossover strands of Holliday junction analogs.
Authors: Mueller J E , Kemper B , Cunningham R P , Kallenbach N R , Seeman N C
Published: May 2006

We have formed four-arm branched DNA junctions that contain no more than a single base pair of branch migratory freedom. Recently, we have shown that these Holliday junction analogs have twofold symmetric protection patterns in solution when probed with hydroxyl radicals: two opposite strands of one junction show extensive protection near the branch point, while the other pair of opposite strands is virtually as susceptible as a double helix. In a different junction, the hydroxyl radical protection pattern is reversed. These patterns suggest that a crossover-isomer bias exists in these molecules and that the protected strands form the crossover between helices. Here, we examine the cleavage pattern of these structures when they are resolved by T4 endonuclease VII. Junctions are formed from a single shamrock-shaped molecule, which contains 5', 3', or internal labels. The enzyme shows a preference for resolving these modified junctions at sites near those protected from hydroxyl radicals. This result suggests that only crossover strands in a Holliday junction are cleaved, and thus an odd number of crossover isomerizations must occur when flanking markers are exchanged.
Frequency spectrum of enthalpy fluctuations associated with macromolecular transitions.
Authors: Mayorga O L , van Osdol W W , Lacomba J L , Freire E
Published: May 2006

A multifrequency calorimeter has been designed to measure the amplitude and time regime of the enthalpic fluctuations associated with structural or conformational transitions in biological macromolecular systems. The heat capacity function at constant pressure is directly proportional to the magnitude of the enthalpic fluctuations in a system. Biological macromolecules undergo thermally induced transitions of different kinds. Within the transition region, these systems exhibit relatively large enthalpy fluctuations that give rise to the characteristic peaks observed by conventional differential scanning calorimetry. The multifrequency calorimeter developed in this laboratory has been designed to measure the frequency spectrum of the enthalpy fluctuations, thus allowing us to estimate thermodynamic parameters as well as relaxation times. This information is obtained from the attenuation in the amplitude or phase-angle shift of the response of the system to a periodic temperature oscillation. This instrument has been used to study the gel-liquid crystalline transition of phosphatidylcholine bilayers. The frequency-temperature response surface for large dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine vesicles has been measured in the frequency range 0.04-1 Hz. The data are consistent with two enthalpic relaxation processes with time constants on the order of 3.8 s and 80 ms at the midpoint of the main gel-liquid crystalline transition.
Cytochrome
b
-559 and proton conductance in oxygenic photosynthesis
Authors: Arnon Daniel I. , Tang George M.-S.
Published: May 2006

Although cytochrome
b
-559 has long been known as a membrane-bound redox component closely linked to the reaction center of the oxygen-generating photosystem (PSII), its role in photosynthesis has remained obscure. This paper reports evidence and outlines a hypothesis in support of a “
b
-559 cycle”—i.e., a light-induced, cytochrome
b
-559-dependent, cyclic electron transport pathway around PSII that promotes translocation of protons from plastoquinol into the aqueous domain (lumen) of photosynthetic membranes (thylakoids). Light-induced proton transport coupled to light-induced electron transport is an essential aspect of energy transduction in photosynthesis because it generates an electrochemical proton gradient that drives ATP synthesis by the process of photosynthetic phosphorylation. The principal carrier of electrons and protons in thylakoids is the plastoquinone/plastoquinol couple. We propose that the
b
-559 cycle functions as a redox-linked proton pump that may operate jointly with the Rieske iron-sulfur pathway in oxidizing plastoquinol. The overall effect of such concerted oxidation of plastoquinol would be the translocation into the thylakoid lumen of two protons for each electron transferred from water to plastocyanin via plastoquinone.
The human somatic cytochrome c gene: two classes of processed pseudogenes demarcate a period of rapid molecular evolution.
Authors: Evans M J , Scarpulla R C
Published: May 2006

We have isolated and determined the DNA sequences of the human somatic cytochrome c gene (HCS) and 11 processed pseudogenes. HCS is the functional homologue to the previously characterized rat somatic gene because it correctly encodes the human heart protein, is present in single copy in the human genome, is nearly identical in both size and intron/exon structure to rodent somatic genes, and shares a high degree of sequence homology with its rat counterpart including a well-conserved promoter region (77% over 250 nucleotides). In contrast to the rodent system, however, where the known pseudogenes all originated from a locus encoding the present day cytochrome c, the human pseudogenes are of two types. A predominant class of older pseudogenes came from a progenitor of HCS that encoded an ancestral form of the protein, while a second group of only a few young pseudogenes originated from a recent parent of HCS that encoded the current cytochrome c polypeptide. These two distinct classes of human pseudogenes provide a molecular record of the history of cytochrome c evolution in primates and demarcate a short period of rapid evolution of the functional gene.
Universal rule for coding sequence construction: TA/CG deficiency-TG/CT excess.
Authors: Ohno S
Published: May 2006

Each coding sequence is a finite resource as to the number and composition of four bases. Accordingly, the excessive recurrence of one base oligomer entails the noticeable underrepresentation by the other, so that if the former is the same in most, if not all, of the coding sequences, the latter too must necessarily be the same in all. Indeed, a previous series of studies on 20-odd divergent coding sequences established CTG as one of the most frequently recurring base trimers (if not the most frequent), and this excess was compensated by the underrepresentation by CG and TA dimer-containing base trimers. In this study, I have analyzed three additional coding sequences and reanalyzed one previously studied coding sequence. These four, derived from man, a plant, and a fish, were of variously lopsided base compositions that were not at all conducive to high recurrences of either CT dimer or CT and TG. Yet, the excess of CT and TG dimers accompanied by complementary deficiency of CG and TA dimers emerged as the common rule. Thus, I propose the above as the universal rule of coding sequence construction. The underrepresentation by CG and TA dimers within coding sequences explains why regulatory signals in intergenic spacers are of two kinds: one, TA dimer rich; and the other, CG dimer rich.