Effect of benzodiazepines on 5'-nucleotidase activity in rat brain

Experiments on 330 rats were made to study the influence of benzodiazepines (diazepam, dormicum and phenazepam) on 5'-nucleotidase activity in brain homogenates. It was discovered that diazepam and dormicum in doses of 3 and 4 mg, phenazepam in doses of 3.75 and 5 mg per 200 g bw provoked a 16-20% reduction in 5'-nucleotidase activity. The maximal effect of diazepam (3 and 4 mg doses) was attained 1 h after intraperitoneal injection, that of dormicum (3 mg) 30 min and of phenazepam (5 mg) 1 h after intraperitoneal injection. It is assumed that benzodiazepines are involved in AMP metabolism.     

Alterations in cerebrospinal fluid uridine,hypoxanthine, and xanthine in head-injured patients

1. Examination of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of head-injured patients reveals that the concentration of intraventricular xanthine is elevated and that of uridine is decreased relative to those of adult lumbar CSF. 2. No correlations were observed between CSF lactate and CSF hypoxanthine, xanthine, or uridine, suggesting that changes in purine metabolites and the pyrimidine nucleoside do not index similar cellular events as does lactic acid production. 3. Ventricular CSF from hydrocephalic infants had uridine and hypoxanthine concentrations not significantly different from those of normal adult lumbar CSF, but xanthine was significantly elevated. 4. Since uridine has anticonvulsant properties and is a crucial substrate for cerebral metabolism, it may be useful to evaluate this pyrimidine for use in the management of patients with head injury.     

Immunological characterization of the cytochrome o terminal oxidase from Escherichia coli

The cytochrome o terminal oxidase from Escherichia coli was immunochemically purified and monospecific antiserum toward cytochrome o was obtained. This antiserum is able to precipitate 100% of the ubiquinol-1 oxidase activity in Triton X-100 extracts of membranes from an E. coli strain in which cytochrome o is the only terminal oxidase. Cytochrome o was analyzed and quantitated using crossed immunoelectrophoresis, rocket immunoelectrophoresis, and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Analysis by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis shows that cytochrome o is composed of four subunits of approximate equimolar stoichiometry with molecular weights of 51,000, 28,500, 18,000, and 12,700. The low temperature (77 K) reduced - oxidized spectrum of the immunoprecipitate shows two peaks at 555 and 562 nm, indicating b-type cytochromes. With the anti-cytochrome o and antiserum toward the cytochrome d terminal oxidase complex which was previously obtained, it is possible to immunochemically assay for all the cytochromes in the cytoplasmic membrane of aerobically grown E. coli. Preliminary results indicate that the biosynthesis of cytochrome o is repressed when cytochrome d is induced by lowering the dissolved oxygen concentration during cell growth.     

Fluorescence technique for comparative studies of substrate-binding subsites in serine proteinases. Application to subtilisins.

A fluorescence technique for comparative studies of substrate-binding subsites in serine proteinases is described. It consists of: selective labelling of the corresponding subsites with a fluorescent group by using N alpha-dansyl(5-dimethylaminonaphthalene-1-sulphonyl)ated peptide chloromethanes containing different numbers of amino acid residues, and probing the immediate environment of the subsites by quenching experiments using ionic and neutral quenchers. Intramolecular distances between the subsites and particular chromophores can be also determined. The technique is of general applicability to all serine proteinases. The above mentioned approach was applied to two proteinases: subtilisin Novo and mesentericopeptidase. It was concluded that the substrate-binding site of mesentericopeptidase is considerably more polar than that of subtilisin Novo. Intramolecular distances between the labelled subsites and tryptophan residues in the two proteinases were determined.     

A specific decrease in collagen synthesis in acutely fasted, vitamin C-supplemented, guinea pigs

Weight loss often results from various experimental conditions including scurvy in guinea pigs, where we showed that decreased collagen synthesis was directly related to weight loss, rather than to defective proline hydroxylation (Chojkier, M., Spanheimer, R., and Peterkofsky, B. (1983) J. Clin. Invest. 72, 826-835). In the study described here, this effect was reproduced by acutely fasting normal guinea pigs receiving vitamin C, as determined by measuring collagen and non-collagen protein production after labeling tissues in vitro with [3H]proline. Collagen production (dpm/microgram of DNA) decreased soon after initiating fasting and by 96 h it had reached levels 8-12% of control values. Effects on non-collagen protein were much less severe, so that the percentage of collagen synthesis relative to total protein synthesis was 20-25% of control values after a 96-h fast. These effects were not due to changes in the specific radioactivity of free proline. Refeeding reversed the effects on non-collagen protein production within 24 h, but collagen production did not return to normal until 96 h. The effect of fasting on collagen production was independent of age, sex, ascorbate status, species of animal, and type of connective tissue and also was seen with in vivo labeling. Pulse-chase experiments and analysis of labeled and pre-existing proteins by gel electrophoresis showed no evidence of increased collagen degradation as a result of fasting. Procollagen mRNA was decreased in tissues of fasted animals as determined by cell-free translation and dot-blot hybridization with cDNA probes. In contrast, there was no decrease in translatable mRNAs for non-collagen proteins. These results suggest that loss of nutritional factors other than vitamin C lead to a rapid, specific decrease in collagen synthesis mainly through modulation of mRNA levels.     

Tunicamycin-resistant mutants of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens are deficient in amylase, protease and penicillinase synthesis and have altered sensitivity to antibiotics and autolysis

Mutants of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens resistant to at least 10 micrograms/ml of tunicamycin were isolated and shown to be pleiotropic. The mutants were more resistant to streptomycin, chloramphenicol, kanamycin and neomycin than was the parent strain but less resistant to penicillin G and tetracycline. They were more autolytic, presumably due to an altered cell wall. The mutants produced reduced levels of amylase, penicillinase and both metal and serine protease besides having an enhanced sporulation frequency and being more motile.     

On the biosynthesis of biotin in Achromobacter IVSW a reinvestigation

[3-¹⁴C, ³⁵S]-L-cysteine was tested as precursor of biotin in Achromobacter IVSW. No significant incorporation was observed, in contradiction with the data previously reported. On the other hand, Achromobacter IVSW converts [³H, ¹⁴C]-dethiobiotin into biotin. This suggests that biotin is biosynthesized in Achromobacter according to the classical dethiobiotin pathway.