bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The complete amino acid sequence of rat submaxillary gland tonin does contain the aspartic acid at the active site: confirmation by protein sequence analyses
Authors: Lazure C. , Leduc R. , Seidah N. G. , Thibault G. , Genest J. , Chrétien M.
Published: December 2009

The revised amino acid sequence of rat submaxillary gland tonin, a serine protease, does contain the active site Asp residue. The active site of this kallikrein-related enzyme is thus made up of the same catalytic triad (Asp, Ser, and His) found in all known serine proteases. The important Asp residue has now been localized in a 16 amino acid peptide previously reported as missing in the tonin sequence. The complete amino acid sequence thus contains 235 residues corresponding to a molecular weight of 25 658, more in agreement with previously reported molecular weights. Moreover, the revised structure led (a) to the assignment of Arg, Asn, and Val residues instead of His, Asp, and Gly at positions 63, 165, and 169, respectively; (b) to the assignment of residues occupying an overlapping sequence at positions 165–171, and finally (c) to the localization of two N-glycosylation sites at positions 82 and 165. These results further document the close relationship of tonin to the ever expanding kallikrein family.
Irradiations of rabbit myofibrils with an ultraviolet microbeam. I. Effects of ultraviolet light on the myofibril components necessary for contraction
Authors: Wilson Paula , Forer Arthur
Published: December 2009

Glycerinated rabbit psoas myofibrils, F-actin, and myofibril ghosts were irradiated with ultraviolet light (UV) to investigate how UV blocks myofibril contraction. Myofibril contraction is most sensitive to 270- and 290-nm wavelength light. We irradiated I and A bands separately with 270- and 290-nm wavelength light using a UV microbeam and constructed dose-response curves for blocking sarcomere contraction. For both wavelengths, irradiations of A bands required less energy per area to block contraction than did irradiations of I bands, suggesting that the primary effects of both 270- and 290-nm wavelength light in stopping myofibril contraction are on myosin. We investigated whether the primary effect of UV in blocking I-band contraction is the depolymerization of actin by comparing the relative sensitivities of I-band contraction, F-actin depolymerization, and thin filament depolymerization to 270- and 290-nm light. We also compared the dose of UV required to depolymerize F-actin in solution with the dose needed to block I-band contraction and the dose required to alter thin filament structure in myofibril ghosts. The results confirm that UV blocks I-band contraction by depolymerizing actin. We discuss how the results might be relevant to the hypothesis that an actomyosin-based system is involved in chromosome movement.
The thrombin-dependent enrichment of alkenylacyl ethanolamine phosphoglyceride with [14C]eicosapentaenoic and [3H]arachidonic acids in prelabelled human platelets
Authors: Weaver B. J. , Holub B.J.
Published: December 2009

The thrombin-dependent enrichment of alkenylacyl ethanolamine phosphoglyceride in [14C]eicosapentaenoic acid ([14C]EPA) was demonstrated and compared with [3H]arachidonic acid ([3H]AA) following the simultaneous prelabelling of individual human platelet phospholipids with these two fatty acids. The alkenylacyl, diacyl, and alkylacyl classes of ethanolamine phosphoglycerides (PE) were separated by thin-layer chromatography as their acetylated derivatives after hydrolysis of the parent phospholipid with phospholipase C. The ratios of [3H]/[14C] for the increased radioactivity appearing in alkenylacyl PE following 60 and 120 s of thrombin stimulation were the same as the corresponding ratio (2.0) found in the choline phosphoglycerides (PC) from control (unstimulated) platelets. These results suggest no significant selectivity between EPA and AA in the thrombin-stimulated transfer of these fatty acids from diacyl PC to alkenylacyl PE. The present findings may possibly bear some relevance to the altered platelet reactivity and (or) decreased thromboxane A2 formation observed in human subjects following the ingestion of marine lipid containing EPA.
Characterization of binding of four monoclonal antibodies to the human ovarian adenocarcinoma cell line HEY
Authors: Sheldon Katherine , Marks Alexander , Baumal Reuben
Published: December 2009

Four mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAb) (10B, IgG1; 8C, IgG2a; M2A, IgG2a; M2D, IgG2b) were characterized with respect to their binding to the ovarian adenocarcinoma cell line HEY, using displacement assays and Scatchard plot analyses. The four mAb reacted with different antigens on the surface of HEY cells, with affinity constants ranging from 1 × 109 to3 × 109 M−1. The number of binding sites per cell for each antibody was approximately 2 × 104. mAb 8C and M2D remained associated with the cell surface following binding to their respective antigens, while mAb 10B was rapidly internalized, with 50% of the bound mAb being lost from the cell surface during 4 h of incubation at 37 °C. These different binding characteristics of the mAb may influence their ability to target radioactivity and cytotoxic drugs to HEY cells.
[125I]Iodohydroxynitrobenzylthioinosine: a new high-affinity nucleoside transporter probe
Authors: Gati Wendy P. , Wiebe Leonard I. , Knaus Edward E. , Paterson Alan R. P.
Published: December 2009

[125l]Iodohydroxynitrobenzylthioinosine ([125I]IH-NBMPR), a new γ-labeled nucleoside transport inhibitor, has been prepared at a theoretical specific activity of 2000 Ci/mmol (1 Ci = 37 GBq). IH-NBMPR was more acidic than hydroxynitrobenzylthioinosine (H-NBMPR), having a pKa of 4.6. Site-specific binding of [125I]IH-NBMPR to membrane-enriched fractions (MEF) from S49 mouse lymphoma cells was pH dependent, increasing with the fraction of undissociated molecules present; it was maximal at pH 4.5 and negligible at pH 7.0. Scatchard analysis of specific binding to MEF from S49 cells under equilibrium conditions at pH 5.0 yielded a Kd of 15 nM (equivalent to 4.0 nM for the undissociated fraction of inhibitor molecules) and maximum number of binding sites (Bmax) of 4.9 pmol/mg protein. Specific binding of IH-NBMPR could not be demonstrated in MEF from AE1 cells, a nucleoside transport-deficient mutant of S49 cells. Influx of uridine into mouse erythrocytes at pH 5.0 in the presence of 5 μM IH-NBMPR (1.4 μM undissociated IH-NBMPR) was reduced to about 7% of the control value, indicating that this compound is an effective nucleoside transport inhibitor. Photoactivation of site-bound [125I]IH-NBMPR, following equilibration of the ligand with MEF from S49 cells at pH 5.0, resulted in specific covalent labeling of a polypeptide with a relative molecular mass of 52 000 – 63 000, identified on sodium dodecyl sulfate – polyacrylamide gels. These results indicate that the new, iodinated ligand is an inhibitor of nucleoside transport and that it binds specifically and with high affinity to nucleoside transporter polypeptides in mammalian cells.
Isolation and characterization of monoclonal antibodies to proline dehydrogenase from Escherichia coli K-12
Authors: Wood Janet M. , Taylor Kimberley A. C. C. , McClellan Denise J. , Lawrie G. Gregg , Krogsrud Richard L. , Beveridge Terrance J.
Published: December 2009

The PutA protein of Escherichia coli K-12 serves as both proline dehydrogenase and the repressor controlling the expression of genes putP and putA. Thirty-eight hybridoma cell lines were isolated using mice immunized with proline dehydrogenase purified from a bacterial membrane extract. The monoclonal antibodies secreted by those cells showed varying affinities for proline dehydrogenase by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Nine antibodies labelled the PutA protein in Western blots after sodium dodecyl sulfate – Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and two of the five tested also labelled the undenatured PutA protein. Three antibodies bound proteins present in a peripheral membrane protein fraction from both putA+ bacteria and a putA::Tn5 mutant strain. Urea denaturation eliminated the proline: 2,6-dichloroindophenol (DCIP) oxidoreductase activity, but did not alter the immunoreactivity of the PutA protein. Tween 20, which caused 1.8-fold increases in Km (proline) and Vmax for proline:DCIP oxidoreductase, increased the avidity of the antibody from hybridoma line 2.1C10.3 fivefold. The antibodies from hybridoma lines 2.1C10.2, 1.2C10.3, and 1.1B07.1 were shown by electron microscopy of immunogold-labelled preparations or by ELISA to bind the membrane-associated PutA protein, whereas those from hybridoma lines 2.1A08.2 and 1.4C09.1 failed to recognize that antigen form. These antibodies will serve as probes of the relationships among protein domain, conformation, and function for the PutA protein.
Horse serum butyrylcholinesterase kinetics: a molecular mechanism based on inhibition studies with dansylaminoethyltrimethylammonium
Authors: Cauet Gilles , Friboulet Alain , Thomas Daniel
Published: December 2009

The kinetics of the hydrolysis of butyrylthiocholine by horse serum butyrylcholinesterase (acylcholine acylhydrolase; BuChE; EC 3.1.1.8) exhibit an activation phenomenon at high substrate concentrations. At least two mechanistic models can account for the enzyme kinetics: one assumes the binding of an additional substrate molecule on the acyl–enzyme intermediate, and the other hypothesizes the existence of a peripheral regulatory site for the substrate. (1-Dimethylaminonaphthalene-5-sulfonamidoethyl)-trimethylammonium perchlorate, a potent reversible inhibitor, appears to affect BuChE activity by binding to a peripheral site. The inhibition is of the mixed type at low substrate concentrations and of the competitive type at high substrate concentrations. This is consistent with a peripheral site for the binding of the substrate responsible for the activation phenomenon.
Kinetic and thermodynamic analysis of taxol-induced polymerization of purified tubulin
Authors: Choudhury Goutam Ghosh , Bhattacharyya Bhabatarak , Biswas Birendra Bijoy
Published: December 2009

The kinetic and thermodynamic behavior of in vitro taxol-induced polymerization of purified tubulin has been studied. The assembly of tubulin initiated by taxol has a critical concentration of 0.1 mg/mL at 37 °C and consists of two consecutive pseudo first-order processes, a fast phase followed by a slow phase. The rate constants of the fast and slow phase polymerizations increase linearly with increasing tubulin concentration. This implies that the polymerization is a true pseudo first-order process. The In (1/t0.5) of polymerization for both fast and slow phases follows a linear function with ln [tubulin] fulfilling one of the criteria of condensation polymerization mechanism. From the Arrhenius plot, the temperature dependence of the rate of tubulin polymerization in the presence of taxol is biphasic. The apparent activation enthalpies for the overall polymerization reaction are 13.0 and 50.8 kcal/mol (1 cal = 4.1868 J), respectively, above and below 26 °C. The apparent activation enthalpies for the elongation reaction have also been determined. The values are 11.6 and 28.4 kcal/mol above and below 28 °C. The temperature dependence of the equilibrium constants as revealed by the van't Hoff plot is also biphasic. The standard enthalpy and entropy values are ΔH° = 7.4 and 22.5 kcal/mol above and below 30 °C, and ΔS° = 50.3 and 101.0 cal/(deg∙mol), at high and low temperatures, respectively. This suggests that the taxol-induced assembly of purified tubulin is a process driven by the effect of entropy.
Attachment of mRNA to the cytoskeletal framework and translational control of gene expression in rat L6 muscle cells
Authors: Bag Jnanankur , Pramanik Saroj
Published: December 2009

The mRNA of rat L6 muscle cells was distributed between a detergent-insoluble fraction containing the cytoskeletal framework and a detergent-soluble fraction. The majority of cytoskeleton-bound mRNA was translationally active and present as polysomes. The mRNA of the detergent-soluble fraction was not associated with the ribosomes and, thus, considered to be the repressed free population. The binding of mRNA was not mediated through ribosomes or the poly(A) region of mRNA. Cross-linking of RNA and proteins was used to examine whether proteins of the cytoskeletal framework were involved in binding mRNA to this structure. Analysis of the mRNA–protein complexes has shown that a large number of polypeptides of molecular masses between 15 and 220 kilodaltons (kDa) were associated with both cytoskeleton-bound and soluble mRNAs. However, a 165-kDa polypeptide was preferentially associated with cytoskeleton-bound mRNA–protein complexes. This polypeptide was also enriched in the total proteins of the cytoskeleton fraction. We have suggested a receptor-like role for the 165-kDa polypeptide in binding mRNA to the cytoskeletal framework. The mechanism of interaction between the cytoskeleton and mRNA was further examined by using a ghost-monolayer transcription system. The mRNA synthesized by this transcription system was preferentially retained in the detergent-insoluble cytoskeleton component of the ghost-monolayer preparation. To understand the physiological significance of the distribution of mRNA between the translationally active cytoskeleton-bound and repressed soluble fractions we have isolated a cDNA clone for a 1.3-kilobase (kb) mRNA. This mRNA was preferentially repressed in myotubes. Distribution of this mRNA was determined by Northern blot analysis using the recombinant plasmid. This analysis indicates that nearly 90% of this mRNA was not associated with ribosomes. In contrast, only 3% of α-actin mRNA was found in the repressed population. However, approximately 25% of the 1.3-kb mRNA was present as repressed free messenger ribonucleoprotein. This behaviour is again different from that of actin. All of the cytoskeleton-bound α-actin mRNA was associated with polysomes. Furthermore, most of the small amount of α-actin mRNA which was present in the soluble fraction was also associated with polysomes. We have, therefore, concluded from these observations that binding of mRNA to the cytoskeleton framework and translation of mRNA are two separate events. We have suggested that mRNA is transported to the cytoplasm as a cytoskeleton-associated complex and further interaction with ribosomes may stabilize this complex. Translationally repressed mRNA which fails to bind to ribosomes may, therefore, be preferentially released from the cytoskeleton framework.
Analysis of the glycopeptides derived from the extracellular matrix secreted by cultured bovine aortic smooth muscle cells
Authors: Leushner James R. A.
Published: December 2009

Modulation of smooth muscle cell behaviour in culture has been associated with changes in the extracellular matrix. In the present study cultures of bovine aortic smooth muscle cells were compared in the rapidly proliferating and confluent phases of growth. The extracellular matrix was similar in both phases of growth and consisted of glycoproteins ranging from molecular weight 20 000 to over 200 000. The glycopeptides derived from these components displayed several differences. N-linked heteropolysaccharides of the biantennary and complex (more than two branches) types were predominant in the matrix of the confluent phase. Larger amounts of high mannose glycopeptides were present in the preparations from proliferating cells. O-Glycosidic glycopeptides were minor components in both preparations, but a slight increase was noted in the confluent phase of growth. Some of the changes in glycopeptides were interpreted in terms of the levels of the major components of the matrix such as the interstitial procollagens and fibronectin. The results indicate that processing of oligosaccharides associated with secreted glycoproteins of the extracellular matrix correlates with the state of growth of smooth muscle cells in culture.
A comparison of the effects of castration and 6-methylene progesterone, a 5α-reductase inhibitor, on the rat ventral prostate
Authors: Marts Sherry A. , Padilla George M. , Petrow Vladimir
Published: December 2009

6-Methylene progesterone (6MP) is an irreversible in vitro kcat inhibitor of rat prostate 5α-reductase, the enzyme which converts testosterone (T) to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Treatment of adult rats with 6MP or diethylstilbestrol (DES) decreased the weight of the ventral prostate (VP) by 45%, while castration reduced it by 86%. Histologically, the 6MP-treated VP were indistinguishable from those of controls, while the VP from DES-treated rats showed fibrous stromal hypertrophy as in castrated rats. The prostatic hydroxyproline content, an index of collagen levels, was enhanced by castration or DES, but was not significantly increased by 6MP. Within 2 days of 6MP treatment, the 5α-reductase activity was reduced by 46% and ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity was lowered by 27%. During this time the prostatic acid phosphatase activity increased 42% and remained elevated with continued exposure to 6MP up to 13 days. The castration-induced involution of the VP was accompanied by a reduction in serum T and an increase in serum luteinizing hormone (LH). 6MP had no effect on T and LH serum levels but reduced the DHT content within the VP by 64%. Our results indicate that the structure and secretory acid phosphatase activity of the VP are less sensitive to changes in the ratio of T: DHT than is cell proliferation. Thus, the relative amounts of DHT and T within the VP may prove to be more significant than the absolute amount of either androgen in controlling prostate growth or its attendant neoplasms.
Stimulation of plasminogen activator production by dimethyl sulfoxide in Chinese hamster ovary cells
Authors: Carlsen Svein A.
Published: December 2009

The production of plasminogen activator activity in an auxotrophic mutant of the Chinese hamster ovary cell line was found be greatly stimulated by low concentrations of dimethyl sulfoxide. The production of both cell-associated and excreted plasminogen activator activities was stimulated maximally by dimethyl sulfoxide at a concentration of 2.5%. The stimulation of plasminogen activator activity production was found to be completely inhibited by actinomycin D and cycloheximide but not by mitomycin C, impying that new protein and RNA syntheses were required for this process. Using specific antibodies against plasminogen activator, the presence of a tissue-type plasminogen activator could only be detected in dimethyl sulfoxide treated cells. The dimethyl sulfoxide induced plasminogen activator production was observed only in a mutant auxotrophic for adenosine, glycine, and thymidine but not in wild-type cells. The ability of dimethyl sulfoxide to induce the synthesis of plasminogen activator was lost when the cells were hybridized with another complementary auxotrophic mutant. This implies that the ability of dimethyl sulfoxide to stimulate the production of plasminogen activator may be related to the auxotrophic mutation in this cell.
Stereochemical course of intestinal absorption and transport of mustard-seed oil triacylglycerols in the rat
Authors: Myher J. J. , Kuksis A. , Yang L.-Y. , Marai L.
Published: December 2009

Male rats with thoracic duct cannulae were intubated with mustard-seed oil or the corresponding fatty acid methyl esters and the lymph was collected over 0–24 h. The chylomicron and very low density lipoprotein fractions were obtained by conventional ultracentrifugation. The triacylglycerols and glycerophospholipids were isolated and the positional distribution and molecular association of fatty acids were determined by stereospecific and chromatographic methods. The oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acids were recovered in the lymph in the proportion in which they occurred in the fat fed, while eicosenoic, erucic, and lignoceric acids were rejected to about the same extent by the two pathways of intestinal triacylglycerol biosynthesis. It is shown that the lymph triacylglycerols arising via the monoacylglycerol or the phosphatidic acid pathway possess structures that are closely similar to each other and to that of the original mustard-seed oil. It is proposed that this is a result of comparable fatty acid and positional specificity of the acyltransferases associated with the acylglycerol synthesis in the animal and plant tissues and the wide range of fatty acid chain lengths in the mustard-seed oil.
Choline glycerophospholipid biosynthesis in the guinea pig heart
Authors: Wientzek Monika , Man Ricky Y. K. , Choy Patrick C.
Published: December 2009

The aims of this study were to (i) elucidate the biosynthetic pathways for the formation of plasmenylcholine in the mammalian heart and (ii) investigate whether the control of choline glycerophospholipid production is different in hearts with high plasmenylcholine content. Guinea pig hearts were used throughout this study, since 34% of the cardiac choline glycerophospholipids in this species is present in the plasmenylcholine form. By perfusion of the guinea pig heart in the Langendorff mode with labeled choline, we demonstrated that the majority of plasmenylcholine in the heart was synthesized via the CDP-choline pathway. The ability of the heart to form plasmenylcholine from CDP-choline and 1-alkenyl-2-acylglycerol was also shown. We postulate that 1-alkenyl-2-acylglycerol in the guinea pig heart might originate from the hydrolysis of plasmenylethanolamine. In mammalian liver and other tissues, the CDP-choline pathway is the major pathway for phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis and the rate-limiting step is catalyzed by CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase. The results obtained from the present study support this supposition. In addition, evidence was obtained indicating that phosphorylation of choline by choline kinase in the CDP-choline pathway may also be rate limiting. Although the involvement of choline kinase as a rate-limiting enzyme in the CDP-choline pathway has been shown in a number of cell cultures, the rate-limiting role of this enzyme in intact mammalian organs has not been previously reported. The rationale for the presence of more than one rate-limiting step in the CDP-choline pathway in the guinea pig heart remains undefined.
Repeated sequence elements in the high molecular weight basic nuclear proteins from the winter flounder
Authors: Young David C. R. , Davies Peter L.
Published: December 2009

In maturing sperm of the winter flounder, histones are not replaced by protamines but instead joined by a group of high molecular weight basic nuclear proteins. Despite their large size and number of components, these proteins were reduced to a relatively simple set of peptides by a "limit" digestion with endoprotease Lys-C. Nine of these peptides, that together account for half of the mass of the digest, were purified by two rounds of chromatography on a C18 reverse-phase high pressure liquid chromatographic column and analysed by sequential Edman degradation. Their sequences can be divided into two homology groups. Seven of the peptides contain all or part of a dodecapeptide consensus sequence, NH2-Ser-Pro-Met-Arg-Ser-Arg-Ser-Pro-Ser-Arg-Ser-Lys-COOH, which appears to be tandemly repeated. This dodecapeptide contains a previously recognized consensus phosphorylation sequence, NH2-Arg-Ser-Arg-Ser-Pro-COOH, in which both serines are phosphorylated during the early stages of spermiogenesis. The other homology group has the sequence NH2-Arg-Arg-Val-X-X-Pro-Lys-COOH, where X-X is either Gln-Thr or Pro-Ser. The dodecapeptide and heptapeptide sequences form at least 35 and 11%, respectively, of the high molecular weight basic nuclear proteins and are, therefore, repeated many times over in these proteins. A search for identical or homologous sequences within the Protein Sequence Database indicated that they are unique. The closest matches were to protamines and some viral DNA-binding proteins.
Selective loss of uncoupling protein mRNA in brown adipose tissue on deacclimation of cold-acclimated mice
Authors: Patel Hasmukh V. , Freeman Karl B. , Desautels Michel
Published: December 2009

The time course of changes in the level of uncoupling protein mRNA when cold-acclimated mice were returned to a thermoneutral environment (33 °C) was examined using a cDNA probe. Upon deacclimation, there was a marked loss of uncoupling protein mRNA within 24 h, which precedes the loss of uncoupling protein from mitochondria. This loss of uncoupling protein mRNA was selective, since there was no change in the relative proportion of cytochrome c oxidase subunit IV mRNA or poly(A)+ RNA in total RNA. The results suggest that the decrease in the mitochondrial content of uncoupling protein during deacclimation is likely the result of turnover of existing protein, with very little replacement due to a lower level of its mRNA.
Analysis of the lipopolysaccharide of Pseudomonas maltophilia 555
Authors: Fabio Jose L. Di , Perry Malcolm B. , Bundle David R.
Published: December 2009

The phenol phase soluble lipopolysaccharide of Pseudomonas maltophilia strain 555, obtained from cells by the hot aqueous phenol method, was of the smooth type. Sodium dodecyl sulfate – polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, hydrolysis, methylation, and 13C and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance analyses showed that this lipopolysaccharide has an O-chain polysaccharide composed of a repeating pentasaccharide unit, containing D-rhamnose (D-Rha, one part), 3-acetamido-3,6-dideoxy-D-galactose (D-Fuc3NAc, one part), and 4-acetamido-4,6-dideoxy-D-mannose (D-Rha4NAc, three parts) and having the structure[Formula: see text]The serological cross-reactions between P. maltophilia 555 and Brucella species can now be related to the occurrence of N-acyl derivatives of 4-amino-4,6-dideoxy-D-mannopyranosyl residues in the O-chains of their respective lipopolysaccharide components.
Phosphatidylethanolamine activation of the purified and delipidated cytochrome-c4:o oxidase from Azotobacter vinelandii
Authors: Wong Tit-Yee , Jurtshuk Jr. Peter
Published: December 2009

The effects of exogenous phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) on the activity of a purified and a delipidated cytochrome oxidase from Azotobacter vinelandii were studied. The Vmax values of N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine oxidation by the cytochrome oxidase increased linearly as a direct function of the amount of exogenously added PE. Some PE remained bound to the oxidase, even after extensive delipidation. Results indicated PE might serve a vital function in maintaining the enzymic activity of this oxidase in A. vinelandii.
Construction of cosmid genomic libraries for the normal and myopathic Syrian hamsters
Authors: McCully James D. , Jandreski Mark A. , Liew Jack , Sole Michael J. , Liew Choong-Chin
Published: December 2009

Cosmid genomic libraries from both normal and myopathic Syrian hamsters have been constructed. MboI was used to generate 35- to 50-kilobase DNA fragments which were isolated from a 5–25% NaCl gradient. The 35- to 50-kilobase DNA fragments were ligated to the cosmid vector pCV108 and packaged into Escherichia coli DK1. Approximately 3 × 105 – 4 × 105 clones were obtained per microgram of ligated DNA. Thirteen clones have been isolated from 2 × 105 colonies using a cardiac myosin heavy chain clone as a probe. Restriction maps of two of these clones are presented here.
Biochemical and morphological effects of gentamicin in human proximal tubular cells: effects on lipid and lipoprotein metabolism
Authors: Chatterjee Subroto , Trifillis Anna L. , Regec Annette L.
Published: December 2009

The effects of gentamicin, an antibiotic used extensively for antimicrobial therapy on the ultrastructure, binding, internalization, degradation, and cholesterol esterification of low-density lipoproteins, were investigated in cultured human proximal tubular cells. Cells were incubated with 0.3 mM gentamicin for 21 days with the following observations. Cells treated with gentamicin contained numerous "myeloid bodies." The binding, internalization, and degradation of 125I-labeled low-density lipoproteins ([125I]LDL) in cells treated with gentamicin was twofold lower than control cells. Pulse–chase experiments demonstrated that gentamicin did not impair the internalization of receptor-bound LDL and their subsequent transport to the lysosome. The relative amounts of [125I]LDL displaced by increasing concentrations of unlabeled LDL were the same in both gentamicin-treated and control cells. This pattern was reflected in the cell surface binding, internalization, and degradation of [125I]LDL. Gentamicin did not alter the degradation of [125I]LDL in cell homogenates at 4.0. The data suggest that gentamicin decreases me receptor-mediated endocytosis of LDL and subsequent lipid metabolism.
Effect of metabolic or respiratory acidosis on rabbit renal medullary proton-ATPase
Authors: Chang Chin S. , Talor Zvi , Arruda Jose A. L.
Published: December 2009

Distal urinary acidification is thought to be mediated by an H+-ATPase sensitive to N-ethylmaleimide and dicyclohexyl-carbodiimide. We have studied the effect of chronic metabolic acidosis (NH4Cl for 3 days) or respiratory acidosis (inhalation of 10% CO2 for 2 days) on the H+-ATPase of plasma membranes prepared from the medulla. The enzymatic assay for the H+-ATPase was performed in the presence of ouabain and oligomycin and in the absence of Ca. H+-transport activity was assessed by the quenching of acridine orange in the presence of ATP. The 15–25% sucrose gradient fraction was enriched 40-fold in enzymatic activity over the homogenate, and 8-fold in enzymatic activity and 4-fold in H+-transport activity over the fluffy fraction (38 000 × g). Metabolic acidosis (pH < 7.31) or chronic hypercapnia (Pco2 > 66 mmHg; 1 mmHg = 133.3 Pa) was induced for 2–3 days. Both groups showed the same enrichment factor in enzymatic and H+-transport assays as the control rabbits. Enzymatic and H+-transport activities, however, were not different between animals with respiratory acidosis and controls. Kinetic studies failed to disclose an increase in Vmax (673 vs. 702 μmol/(mg protein∙min)) or a decrease in Km (0.43 vs. 0.48 mM) in chronic hypercapnia as compared with controls. Metabolic acidosis also failed to increase H+-ATPase activity, These data demonstrate that the H+-ATPase of renal medulla does not display the expected increase in activity during acidosis. The role of this H+-ATPase in the adaptation to acidosis remains to be determined.
Cation-induced thermostability of yeast and Escherichia coli pyrophosphatases
Authors: Ichiba Tetsuro , Shibasaki Tatsuya , Iizuka Eisaku , Hachimori Akira , Samejima Tatsuya
Published: December 2009

Inorganic pyrophosphatases (PPiases) from both yeast and Escherichia coli were found to be stable against heat denaturation in the presence of Mg2+, as previously observed with the enzymes from thermophilic bacteria. No loss of activity was observed after 1 h of incubation at 50 °C and pHs between 6 and 9 in the yeast enzyme, and at 60 °C and pHs between 7.2 and 9.2 in the E. coli enzyme. Such an induced thermostability of the E. coli enzyme was detected when Mn2+, Co2+, Ca2+, Cd2+, and Zn2+ were added in place of Mg2+. On the other hand, the degree of induced thermostability of the yeast enzyme was dependent upon the divalent cations used, and Ni2+ and Cu2+ accelerated the heat inactivation. On adding the divalent cations, the difference spectra of the E. coli enzyme always showed negative peaks in the ultraviolet region, but those of the yeast enzyme changed again depending upon the divalent cations. The circular dichroism spectra in the near ultraviolet region of both enzymes greatly differed from each other, but both were not affected so much by adding the divalent cations unlike the thermophilic enzymes from Bacillus stearothermophilus and thermophilic bacterium PS-3. Yeast and E. coli PPiases did not cross-link with the anti-immunoglobulin G's from the thermophilic enzymes, but the thermophilic enzymes did with each other's antisera. The results in the present study indicated that the conformation of PPiase, in which the aromatic amino acid residues were buried in the interior of the protein molecule, was very important for the thermostability and also that the protein structures of PPiases from B. stearothermophilus and thermophilic bacterium PS-3 were very similar to each other, but were very different from those of the mesophilic enzymes.
Purification and characterization of ferro- and cobalto-chelatases
Authors: Cánepa Eduardo T. , Llambías Elena B.C.
Published: December 2009

Pig liver ferrochelatase was purified 465-fold with about 30% yield, to apparent homogeneity, by a procedure involving solubilization from mitochondria, ammonium sulfate fractionation, and Sephacryl S-300 chromatography. The fraction of each purification step had cobaltochelatase as well as ferrochelatase activity. A purified protein of molecular weight 40 000 was found by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. A molecular weight of approximately 240 000 was obtained by Sephacryl S-300 chromatography. Both activities of the purified fraction increased linearly with time until 2 h. but nonlinear plots were obtained with increasing concentrations of protein. Their optimum pH values were similar. Km values were, for ferrochelatase activity, 23.3 μM for the metal and 30.3 μM for mesoporphyrin. and for cobaltochelatase activity. 27 and 45.5 μM, respectively. Fe2+ and Co2+ each protected against inactivation by heat. Pb2+, Zn2+, Cu2+, or Hg2+ inhibited both activities, while Mn2+ slightly activated; Mg2+ had no effect, at the concentrations tested. There appeared to be an involvement of sulfhydryl groups in metal insertion. Lipids, in correlation with their degree of unsaturation, activated both purified activities; phospholipids also had activation effects. We conclude that a single protein catalyzes the insertion of Fe2+ or Co2+ into mesoporphyrin.
Activation of detergent-solubilized rat hepatic 5′-iodothyronine deiodinase by NADPH and nonglutathione cytosolic components
Authors: Sawada Kenzo , Hummel Brian C. W. , Walfish Paul G.
Published: December 2009

An investigation was made of the possible role of the hepatic microsomal membrane in the activation of 5′-iodothyronine deiodinase (5′-DI) by a cytosolic activating system consisting of fraction A (relative mass (Mr) > 60000), fraction B (Mr, approximately 13 000), and NADPH. Activation of 5′-DI in washed microsomes was compared with that of a microsome extract prepared by solubilization with 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propane sulphonate and further purification by fractional precipitation with polyethylene glycol and by DEAE-Sephacel chromatography. All 5′-DI preparations exhibited qualitatively similar dependence upon NADPH and cytosolic factors in fractions A and B for 5′-DI activation and were relatively unresponsive to NADH. Activation of solubilized preparations, unlike that of intact microsomes, was more readily inhibited by low concentrations of detergent and not inhibited by NADPH concentrations above 0.25 mM. Attempted purification of 5′-DI failed to produce a substantial increase in specific activity of the enzyme. It is concluded that, while glutathione-independent cytosolic factors and NADPH can activate 5′-DI in the absence of an intact microsomal membrane, some membrane constituents removed during solubilization and purification of the enzyme are required for maximal activation.
Characterization of the 1-phosphohistidinyl residue in the phosphocarrier protein HPr of the phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system of Streptococcus faecalis
Authors: Waygood E. B. , Pasloske K. , Delbaere L. T. J. , Deutscher J. , Hengstenberg W.
Published: December 2009

The phosphocarrier protein HPr of the bacterial phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system contains 1- phosphohistidine at residue 15. This residue and the active site residue Arg-17 are conserved in HPrs isolated from both Gram-positive and -negative bacteria. The pH- and temperature-dependent hydrolysis of the 1-phosphohistidinyl residue in P-HPr from Streptococcus faecalis has been investigated. The results show that the hydrolysis properties are very similar to those previously reported for P-HPr from Escherichia coli. It was postulated that the unusual hydrolysis properties were due to the presence of a carboxyl group at the active site, and it is now known that in HPr from Escherichia coli the C-terminal residue Glu-85 is present. The results in this paper suggest that a similar carboxyl group is present at the active site in HPr from Streptococcus faecalis.
Expression of heat shock genes of Neurospora crassa: effect of hyperthermia and other stresses on mRNA levels
Authors: Curle Carol A. , Kapoor M.
Published: December 2009

Neurospora crassa mycelium was heat shocked for intervals varying from 15–180 min. Heat shock mRNA was monitored by hybridization of Northern blots with the Drosophila hsp-70 gene probe and an inducible member of the yeast hsp-70 gene family, YG100. A 2.7 kilobase (kb) transcript, with homology to these two probes, was detected in cultures shocked for 15 min; its levels increased up to 60–90 min and declined thereafter. Sodium arsenite, too, induced the synthesis of this transcript. An additional, constitutively synthesized 2.4-kb transcript was revealed by hybridization with the yeast probe. The synthesis of this message was terminated during heat shock. Hybridization of Northern blots with the Drosophila actin gene probe demonstrated two size classes, 1.85 and 1.63 kb; the former decreased dramatically following heat shock. Recovery, as assessed by the disappearance of the 2.7-kb hsp-70-mRNA and restoration of the 1.85-kb actin message to the prestress levels, was essentially complete within 60 min of transfer to 28 °C. In vitro translations of RNA from stressed cells showed the heat shock messages to be stable and readily translatable. RNA of cells subjected to heat shock plus CdCl2 showed a higher content of messages for heat shock proteins of 70, 80, and 90 kilodaltons.
Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase mediated carbon flow in a cyanobacterium
Authors: Owttrim George W. , Colman Brian
Published: December 2009

The source of the substrate phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) for phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEP-case) activity in the cyanobacterium Coccochloris peniocystis has been investigated, as well as possible sinks for this carbon. PEP was not produced by pyruvate orthophosphate dikinase, as this activity was not detectable in cell-free lysates. PEP is supplied from photosynthetically or glycolytically produced 3-phosphoglyceric acid (3-PGA), as carbon was observed to flow from 3-PGA to C4 acids in a cell-free system. This indicates PEP-case activity is dependent on photosynthetically fixed carbon and thus two separate carbon fixation reactions occur in the cell in the light. Estimates of the in vivo concentrations of various metabolites indicates that neither substrate nor inhibitor concentrations limit enzyme activity in vivo. Thus PEP-case activity in vivo appears to be limited by the supply of PEP and is, therefore, high in the light and low in the dark. The nitrogen storage product cyanophycin was identified as one sink for carbon fixed by PEP-case. As a culture aged, cyanophycin production increased, while chlorophyll and protein production decreased.
A novel N-acetylglucosaminidase from neonatal rat enterocytes
Authors: Jakoi Emma R. , Brown Alison L.
Published: December 2009

The luminal surface of ileal enterocytes in fetal and neonatal mammals is covered by β-hexosaminidase, which is attached to a fibrillar array. In this study, we have isolated this enzyme and subjected it to kinetic and structural analyses. The enzyme is identified as N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase (NAβG) on the basis of substrate specificity and susceptibility to inhibition by N-acetylgalactosamine. Its catalytic properties and thermal stability are characteristics of the acidic, thermally labile human isoenzyme, but it differs from the human glycosidase in size. The neonatal NAβG is a species of 225 000 relative mass (Mr), composed of two subunits of 125 000 and 115 000 Mr. Both its cellular location and differences in biophysical properties from the adult rat lysosomal forms and human glycosidases suggest that the neonatal rat NAβG is a novel isoenzyme.
Persistence of a micrococcal nuclease sensitive region spanning the promoter–coding region junction of a cell cycle regulated human H4 histone gene throughout the cell cycle
Authors: Moreno M. L. , Pauli U. , Chrysogelos S. , Stein J. L. , Stein G. S.
Published: December 2009

We have examined the chromatin structure of the cell cycle regulated human H4 histone gene FO108 A at various times during the cell cycle, by treating nuclei isolated from synchronized HeLa S3 cells with micrococcal nuclease. Purified DNA was fractionated electrophoretically, transferred to nitrocellulose, and hybridized to small (150–250 nucleotides) radiolabeled probes from various portions of the promoter and coding regions of the gene. Our results indicate the existence of a micrococcal nuclease sensitive region located between positions −60 and +90 base pairs (bp) from the start codon of the gene, which includes the TATA box. This nuclease-sensitive region persists at all the cell cycle times analyzed. Hybridization with a 250-bp probe containing only coding region sequences reveals a disrupted nucleosomal ladder during early S phase, when this H4 histone gene replicates and exhibits an enhanced level of transcription. By mid-S phase, the regular nucleosomal structure of the coding region is restored and persists during subsequent phases of the cell cycle. The disruption of a normal nucleosomal organization in the promoter and mRNA coding regions of this H4 histone gene is also supported by the sensitivity of these sequences to S1 nuclease.
Alterations in hepatic microsomal protein levels in rainbow trout fed cyclopropenoid fatty acids analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis
Authors: Perdew Gary H. , Schaup Henry W. , Williams David E. , Buhler Donald R. , Selivonchick Daniel P.
Published: December 2009

Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis was used to analyze the effect of dietary cyclopropenoid fatty acids on hepatic microsomal polypeptide distribution patterns. Antibodies against rainbow trout type-LM2 cytochrome P-450 were employed to localize the corresponding polypeptide(s) by immunochemical staining. The LM2 antigen was purified from trout that had been fed β-naphthoflavone. Microsomes from trout fed β-naphthoflavone showed a decrease in a cytochrome P-450 polypeptide, detected with antibody against LM2. In contrast, microsomes from control fish contained two distinct cytochrome P-450 polypeptides, differing in their isoelectric points. Cyclopropenoid fatty acid treatment caused a preferential decrease in the additional isozyme seen in control samples. The distribution of concanavalin-A-binding glycopolypeptides was also assessed. Surprisingly, the two P-450 isozymes localized from control microsomes were found to bind concanavalin A. In addition to this, the cyclopropenoid fatty acid treatment generated a shift in a closely related group of microsomal glycopolypeptides, labelled gp80, gp82, gp801, and gp821. A decrease in the levels of gp80 and gp82 and a corresponding increase in gp801 and gp821 was observed.
Identification of a developmentally modulated, intermediate filament associated protein in the chick embryo
Authors: Vincent Michel , Lahaie Claude
Published: December 2009

We report here the detection of a high molecular weight (> 400 000) cytoskeletal protein in the myogenic and neural tube derived structures of the chick embryo using a monoclonal antibody, F51H2. Immunohistological analysis reveals that this protein is concentrated in the myotome part of the somites, in the heart primordium, and in the neural tube at the end of the 2nd day of incubation. In cultured fibroblasts, the antibody appeared to decorate a filamentous network, although immunoreactivity was not detected on mesenchymal cells in situ. This network was also observed in cultured myoblasts where it has been demonstrated to be coincident to that of desmin. In colchicine-treated cells the immunoreactivity coincided with the perinuclear cap formed by the collapse of intermediate filaments (IFs). Immunoblot experiments confirmed the early distribution of F51H2 antigen in muscle and nerve tissues and its concentration in a salt-resistant IF-rich fraction of muscle tissues. In addition, there is a progressive loss of immunoreactivity during development. The immunoreactive band on sodium dodecyl sulfate gels was faint in tissues from newly hatched chickens and absent in adult tissues. It is suggested that the monoclonal antibody observed herein reacts with an embryo specific high molecular weight protein that is associated with IFs.
Glycosylation of chicken haptoglobin: Isolation and characterization of three molecular variants and studies of their distribution in hen plasma before and after turpentine-induced inflammation
Authors: Delers Francisco , Strecker Gérard , Engler Robert
Published: December 2009

Chicken haptoglobin (Hp), a hemoglobin-binding protein isolated from chicken plasma, is composed of three molecular variants that react differently with concanavalin A (ConA). These glycosylation variants of chicken Hp have been isolated by affinity chromatography using Sepharose-bound ConA. They differ in their molecular weight, as determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. Analysis of the glycopeptides obtained after pronase digestion of these variants yielded two types of structures: one, reactive with ConA, corresponded to a biantennary N-linked carbohydrate unit and one, unreactive with ConA, corresponded to a triantennary unit. The strongly ConA-reactive Hp variant bears only two biantennary units and the nonreactive Hp variant bears only two triantennary units; the weakly reactive Hp variant bears equal amounts of both units. The distribution of Hp glycosylation variant does not show any significant difference when obtained from the plasma of laying hens before and after turpentine-induced inflammation.
Absence of an endogenous regulator of Na+,K+-ATPase activity in the tissues of cirrhotic rats
Authors: Tejedor A. , Conesa D. , Hernando N. , Hernando L. , Lopez-Novoa J. M.
Published: December 2009

Microsomal Na+,K+-ATPase isolated from the renal cortex of rats with CCl4-induced cirrhosis (CIR) showed a higher specific activity than the enzyme obtained from control rats (COR). Kinetic studies showed a lower K0.5 for ATP (0.08 ± 0.03 vs. 0.24 ± 0.04 mM; p < 0.05), a lower Na+ activation constant (9.6 ± 1.5 vs. 19.0 ± 1.7 mM; p < 0.05), and a higher K+ activation constant (1.2 ± 0.1 vs. 0.6 ± 0.1 mM; p < 0.05) for CIR. The optimal pH of the enzyme was 0.5 units higher in CIR than COR. The fluorescence of eosin-treated enzymes indicated a higher ratio of E1/E2 forms of Na+,K+-ATPase in CIR. The K+-activated p-nitrophenylphosphatase (pNPPase) activity of the enzyme was lower in CIR than COR rats (1.5 ± 0.1 vs. 2.2 ± 0.1 mU/mg; p < 0.05). Dialysing (24 h) COR microsomes reproduced most of the changes observed in CIR enzymes (kinetics, optimal pH, and eosin fluorescence). Lyophilized dialysate of COR, but not of CIR microsomes, inhibits Na+,K+-ATPase activity. These results suggest that a dialysable inhibitor modifies the Na+,K+-ATPase activity in the kidney of COR which is almost absent in that of CIR. The absence of this factor may lead to the overall inability to excrete Na+ in the cirrhotic state.
Inhibition of glycogen synthase (casein) kinase-1 by divalent metal ions
Authors: Singh Toolsee J.
Published: December 2009

The specificity of glycogen synthase (casein) kinase-1 (CK-1) for different divalent metal ions was explored in this study. Of nine metal ions (Mg2+, Mn2+, Zn2+, Cu2+, Ca2+, Ba2+, Ni2+, Co2+, Fe2+) tested, only Mg2+ supported significant kinase activity. Several of the other metals, however, inhibited the Mg2+-stimulated kinase activity. Half-maximal inhibitions by Mn2+, Zn2+, Co2+, Fe2+, and Ni2+ were observed at 55, 65, 110, 125, and 284 μM, respectively. Kinetic analyses indicate that the metal ions are acting as competitive inhibitors of CK-1 with respect to the protein substrate (casein) and as noncompetitive inhibitors with respect to the nucleotide substrate (ATP). The inhibition of CK-1 by the different metal ions can be reversed by EGTA.