Mutations induced by ionizing radiation in a plasmid replicated in human cells. II. Sequence analysis of alpha-particle-induced point mutations

The human shuttle plasmid pZ189, containing the Escherichia coli supF gene as the mutational target, was irradiated in vitro with 210Po alpha particles and transfected into human lymphoblastoid cells. Plasmids which were replicated in human cells were recovered and those containing mutant supF genes were isolated by phenotypic screening in E. coli. The mutations were characterized by sequencing the tRNA gene. The mutant frequency increased linearly with the alpha-particle dose and, at 259 Gy, it was 16 times (0.29%) that observed in unirradiated controls (0.018%). The distribution of alpha-particle-induced point mutations was highly nonrandom and similar to that observed in the unirradiated or X-irradiated plasmid DNAs. The majority of the mutations were G.C----A.T transitions and occurred selectively at most 5'-TC (3'-AG) and 5'-CC (3'-GG) sequences. For the unirradiated control DNA, these mutations at C's (G's) were preferentially located in the nontranscribed strand, similar to the observation previously made for mutations in X-irradiated DNA. Such a strand bias was not observed for mutations in the alpha-particle-irradiated DNA. The data suggest that, although similar types of point mutations are induced in unirradiated, X-irradiated, and alpha-particle-irradiated DNAs, the mechanisms of their induction and the exact nature of the lesions involved may be quite different.     

N-terminal amino acid sequence analysis of the subunits of pea photosystem I

Six 'core' subunits of pea photosystem I have been isolated and their N-terminal amino acid sequences determined by gas-phase or solid-phase sequencing. On average more than thirty residues were determined from the N-terminus of each polypeptide. This sequence analysis has revealed three polypeptides with charged N-terminal regions (21, 17 and 11 kDa subunits), one polypeptide with a predominantly hydrophobic N-terminal region (9 kDa subunit), one polypeptide which is cysteine-rich (8 kDa subunit) and one which is alanine-rich (13 kDa subunit).     

Synthesis of the cyanogenic beta-glucosidase, linamarase, in white clover

The beta-glucosidase, linamarase, which specifically hydrolyzes cyanogenic substrates, linamarin and lotaustralin, in white clover, is synthesized in the early stages of leaf and seedling development in genetically competent plants. Plants, from natural populations, possessing at least one Li allele synthesize linamarase but plants with only li alleles do not, nor do they produce inactive but antigenically related linamarase. Linamarase is known to be a mannosyl glycoprotein, which in its active form is a dimer, with a subunit size of 62,000 Mr. We demonstrate that the antibiotic tunicamycin, which prevents N-acetyl-asparagine linked glycosylation, reduces in vivo synthesis of linarmarase. In vitro translation of mRNA from a Li Li plant yields a 59,000 Mr immunoprecipitated linamarase polypeptide which is modified to a 62,000 Mr product by the addition of dog pancreas microsomes. No anti-linamarase immunoprecipitable product is obtained from the in vitro translation products of mRNA from a li li plant.     

Modeling dynamic experiments on the anaerobic degradation of molasses wastewater

The kinetics of anaerobic degradation of a molasses wastewater were measured under constant pH conditions in a laboratory scale packed bed reactor. In continuous and batch experiments the formation and degradation rates of the organic acids (butyric, propionic and acetic) have been followed. The influence of hydrogen gas on the acid degradation rates has been measured and, contrary to the literature and the thermo-dynamic calculations, no inhibition was detected, biofilm diffusional effects may be the reason. Two dynamic simulation models were tested, a heterogeneous model, which considered the biofilm diffusion-reaction phenomena and a quasihomogeneous model with the same kinetics. Except for hydrogen, the diffusion effects were found to be negligible. Otherwise both models gave essentially the same results and the time profiles of acids, hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane agreed relatively well with dynamic startup experiments. Batch experiments showed the acid concentrations to be highly sensitive to the initial molasses concentration. This aspect was not included in the model but is being investigated further.     

Influence of chemical reactivity of urushiol-type haptens on sensitization and the induction of tolerance

Contact sensitization to components of the urushiol oils of poison oak and poison ivy appears to require covalent bond formation between the o-quinones derived from urushiol catechols and nucleophilic groups on proteins. Previous studies using a murine delayed hypersensitivity model demonstrated that 5-methyl-3-pentadecylcatechol (5-Me-PDC) is an epicutaneous tolerogen to the parent compound and a weak sensitizer to itself. To investigate further the structural requirements for sensitization vs suppression, 5,6-dimethyl-3-pentadecylcatechol (5,6-di-Me-PDC) and 4,5,6-trimethylpentadecylcatechol (4,5,6-tri-Me-PDC) were synthesized. The former compound is blocked at both preferred sites for covalent bond formation and the latter is completely blocked towards conjugate addition reactions. These compounds were tested for sensitizing and suppressive ability. Epicutaneous application of both analogs suppressed subsequent induction of sensitization to 3-pentadecylcatechol (PDC) and 3-heptadecylcatechol (HDC). Lymph node cells from animals treated with 5,6-di-Me-PDC could transfer suppression. The dimethyl analog, 5,6-di-Me-PDC, but not the trimethyl analog also exhibited weak sensitizing capacity. The urushiol analogs 5-pentadecylresorcinol (PDR) and 3-heptadecylveratrole (HDV) which cannot form o-quinones were found to be ineffective sensitizers as well. HDV in addition produced no blastogenesis in draining lymph nodes whereas lymph node cell proliferation induced by 4,5,6-tri-Me-PDC followed the same kinetics as previously observed for HDC. PDR elicited weak proliferation with a different time course. These and previous studies indicate that blocking the C5-position on the catechol ring favors the induction of suppression, although some sensitizing capacity may be retained. Covalent bond formation may not be necessary for the induction of active suppressor cell populations.     

Column centrifugation generates an intersubunit disulfide bridge in Escherichia coli F1-ATPase

Passage of F1-ATPase through a centrifuge column [Penefsky, H. S. (1979) Methods Enzymol. 56, 527-530] caused formation of a product with a relative molecular mass of 72,000 as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The product was identified as cross-linked alpha and delta subunits by using Western blots and subunit-specific monoclonal antibodies. The cross-link was reversed by 50 mM dithiothreitol implying that it was a disulfide bridge. Formation of the cross-link was inhibited by 2 mM EDTA and was stimulated in some buffers by the addition of 10 microM CuCl2. Time course experiments indicated that the majority of the cross-link formed while the enzyme was passing through the column. Thus the cross-link induced by column centrifugation arose from the rapid, heavy-metal-ion-catalysed oxidation of two sulfhydryl groups, one on the alpha subunit and one on the delta subunit, to a disulfide. These results demonstrate that care must be exercised when running proteins through centrifuge columns as potentially deleterious disulfide formation can result. An anti-beta monoclonal antibody was capable of immunoprecipitating the entire enzyme including the cross-linked subunits, implying that the cross-linked alpha and delta subunits were still a part of F1. The formation of the cross-link affected neither the hydrolytic activity of the enzyme nor its susceptibility to inhibition by epsilon subunit. The cross-linked enzyme was unable to bind to F1-depleted membranes in experiments in which soluble F1 and membranes were separated by centrifugation. Column centrifugation did not generate the cross-link on membrane-bound enzyme. These results indicate that the alpha-delta cross-link results in a loss of binding affinity between F1 and F0.     

Factors affecting the reliability of the McMaster technique

Factors detracting from the reliability of faecal egg counts based on the McMaster technique include variation in flotation time (interval between loading chamber and counting eggs) and sample dilution (ratio of faecal material to salt solution). We recommend standardization of both these variables as normal laboratory procedure, and propose optima of a 30 minute flotation time and a sample dilution of 15 ml salt solution/g faeces for use of the McMaster technique in the estimation of the fecundity of Heligmosomoides polygyrus (Nematoda).     

Anti-VPg antibody precipitation of product RNA synthesized in vitro by the poliovirus polymerase and host factor is mediated by VPg on the poliovirion RNA template.

Antibody to the poliovirus genome-linked protein, VPg, specifically immunoprecipitated the product RNA synthesized in vitro by the poliovirus RNA polymerase and HeLa cell host factor when VPg-linked poliovirion RNA was used as a template. The largest product RNA that was immunoprecipitated was twice the size of the template RNA. The complete denaturation of the product RNA with CH3HgOH had no effect on the immunoprecipitation reaction. In contrast, CH3HgOH denaturation prevented the immunoprecipitation of the oligo(U)-primed product RNA. Immunoprecipitation of the product RNA synthesized in the host-factor-dependent reaction was prevented if VPg was removed from the template RNA by pretreatment with proteinase K or if an RNA template without VPg was used in the reaction. The results support our previous evidence that a covalent linkage exists between the labeled negative-strand product RNA and the VPg-linked template RNA and suggest that the purified polymerase and host factor initiated RNA synthesis in vitro in the absence of VPg or a VPg-precursor protein.     

Production of pea lectin in Escherichia coli

In order to explore the molecular basis for the glycopeptide specificity of legume lectins, we have developed an experimental system in which specific amino acid alterations can be introduced into the carbohydrate binding site of pea lectin. This system is based on the production of pea lectin in Escherichia coli. The plasmid coding for the lectin was constructed from two lectin cDNA sequences isolated from Pisum sativum seeds (Higgins, T. J. V., Chandler, P. M., Zurawski, G., Button, S. C., and Spencer, D. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 9544-9549) and an expression vector based on the gene for the outer membrane lipoprotein of E. coli (Nakamura, K., and Inouye, M. (1982) EMBO J. 1, 771-775). The lectin is produced as a single polypeptide chain and forms insoluble aggregates in E. coli cells (2-5 mg/liter). Functional lectin is recovered by solubilization of the aggregates in guanidinium hydrochloride, renaturation in the presence of MnCl2 and CaCl2, and affinity purification on Sephadex. This procedure yields a homogeneous 28,000-dalton protein. Comparison of the recombinant lectin with natural pea lectin in an inhibition of hemagglutination assay demonstrated that there is no detectable difference in the carbohydrate binding properties of the two lectins.     

Effects of irradiation on endothelial cell-polymorphonuclear leukocyte interactions

Prominent early effects of irradiation include neutrophilic vasculitis and interstitial inflammation. To examine the role of the endothelium in these events, bovine aortic endothelial cells (EC) were irradiated (5 Gy) under ambient conditions followed by measurements of neutrophil chemotaxis toward conditioned media and adherence to EC. Neutrophil chemotactic activity increased at 4, 24, and 72 h in both the sham-treated (4.2 +/- 2.5, 15.2 +/- 4.8, and 20.0 +/- 2.7 microns, respectively) and irradiated EC-conditioned media (5.0 +/- 2.1, 18.7 +/- 4.5, and 24.1 +/- 3.4 microns, respectively), and the difference between them was significant at 72 h. The chemoattractant was trypsin sensitive, heat resistant, and chemotactic. It was not present in the EC sonicate. Adherence of neutrophils to EC that were irradiated 4 h earlier (19.3 +/- 4.2%) increased compared with controls (11.1 +/- 2.4%) and was similar to EC pretreated with zymosan-activated serum (22.0 +/- 4.0%), which is a potent inducer of adherence. Thus, following irradiation, bovine aortic EC have greater neutrophil chemotactic activity in their media and are more adherent to polymorphonuclear leukocytes.