Blood clotting factor IX BM Nagoya. Substitution of arginine 180 by tryptophan and its activation by alpha-chymotrypsin and rat mast cell chymase

Factor IX BM Nagoya (IX Nagoya) is a natural mutant of factor IX responsible for severe hemophilia B. A patient with this mutant is characterized by a markedly prolonged ox brain prothrombin time. IX Nagoya was purified from the patient's plasma by immunoaffinity chromatography with an anti-factor IX monoclonal antibody column. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that treatment of IX Nagoya with factor XIa/Ca2+ resulted in cleavage only at the Arg145-Ala146 bond. Reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography of a trypsin digest of IX Nagoya showed an aberrant peptide, which was further digested with proteinase Asp-N. Primary structure analysis of one of the Asp-N peptides revealed that Arg180 is replaced by Trp. An essentially complete (99%) amino acid sequence of IX Nagoya was obtained by sequencing fragments derived from a lysyl endopeptidase digest in which no other substitutions in the catalytic triad or substrate binding site were found. We also found that IX Nagoya is activated by alpha-chymotrypsin or rat mast cell chymase by monitoring the rate of factor X activation using a fluorogenic peptide substrate in the presence of factor VIII, phospholipids, and Ca2+. These results indicate that the substitution of Arg180 by Trp impairs the cleavage by factor XIa required for activation of this zymogen and that the substitution causes hemophilia BM.     

Enhancement of plasminogen activator activity in cultured endothelial cells by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor

A hitherto unknown function of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) was found using cultured endothelial cells. G-CSF stimulated activity of plasminogen activator (PA) in both extracellular and intracellular milieus of endothelial cells obtained from bovine carotid and aortic artery. This effect was dependent on the concentration of G-CSF added to the culture medium and on the treatment time. The extracellular activity was enhanced approximately 5-fold at a concentration of 5,000 colony-forming unit (CFU)/ml (2.6 nM) and in about a 15-hr treatment period. Analyses by fibrin and reverse fibrin autography revealed that activity of PA was much more increased than that of PA inhibitor in endothelial cells treated with G-CSF.     

Inhibitory effect of anti-class II antibody on the spontaneous activation of B cells in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Analysis with IL-1 production and IL-1 receptor expression

The mechanism of the spontaneous activation of B cells in patients with SLE was analyzed from the standpoint of the production of IL-1 from B cells and the expression of IL-1R on B cells. SLE B cells spontaneously produced IL-1-like factors which stimulated murine thymocyte proliferative responses. Their m.w. was about 17,000 and their isoelectric point was 4.8. The IL-1-like activity produced by B cells was absorbed with rabbit anti-IL-1 alpha antibody, but not with anti-IL-1 beta antibody. The differentiation of SLE B cells was enhanced by rIL-1 alpha, beta or IL-1-like factors produced by SLE B cells in a concentration-dependent manner. SLE B cells expressed large number of IL-1R detected by FITC-conjugated IL-1 alpha. By a Percoll gradient density centrifugation, IL-1-producing cells and B cells responsive to IL-1 were enriched in a higher density fraction, but were reduced in a lower density fraction. IL-1R-positive B cells were enriched in the lower density fraction, but were depleted in the higher density fraction. However, the expression of IL-1R on the lower density B cells was reduced by 2-day culture. The expression of IL-1R on the higher density B cells was increased during a 2-day culture. Anti-class II antibody inhibited the production of IL-1R on the higher density B cells. These results suggest that the cellular interaction among B precursor cells mediated by class II Ag induces the production of IL-1 and the expression of its receptors on their surface and the interaction between IL-1 and its receptors stimulates B precursor cells to spontaneously differentiate into Ig-producing cells as an autocrine mechanism in patients with SLE.     

Tumor necrosis factor as an activator of human granulocytes. Potentiation of the metabolisms triggered by the Ca2+-mobilizing agonists

TNF stimulated superoxide (O2-) release directly in human granulocytes in a dose-dependent manner (1 to 1000 U/ml), although its potency was weak. TNF-induced O2- release was inhibited by cAMP agonists or ionomycin, and was not accompanied with an increase in cytoplasmic free Ca2+ [( Ca2+]i) and membrane potential changes (depolarization). These findings indicate that neither Ca2+ mobilization nor membrane depolarization is required for TNF-receptor-mediated cell activation. The pretreatment of human granulocytes with TNF enhanced O2- release and membrane depolarization in parallel stimulated by the receptor-mediated Ca2+-mobilizing agonists (FMLP, Con A, and wheat germ agglutinin) or the Ca2+ ionophore ionomycin, but not by PMA, a direct activator of protein kinase C. The optimal effect was obtained by pretreatment of cells with 100 U/ml TNF for 5 to 10 min at 37 degrees C, although the magnitude of enhancement varied according to the agonists used as subsequent stimuli. TNF did not affect an increase in [Ca2+]i stimulated by the Ca2+-mobilizing agonists, except Con A. Con A-induced increase in [Ca2+]i was enhanced by TNF in a dose-dependent manner. These diverse effects of TNF could be partly explained by the exclusive potentiation by TNF of the metabolic events triggered by an increase in [Ca2+]i.     

Proteolytic Activity against Model Peptides of the Cell Wall Lytic Enzyme from Chlamydomonas

A cell wall lytic enzyme (gamete wall-autolysin) from Chlamydomonasreinhardtii specifically cleaved several synthetic model peptides,-neo-endorphin, dynorphin (1–13), neurotensin and mastoparan,at the peptide bonds between consecutive hydrophobic amino-acidresidues. The cleavage was not significantly affected by high-saltconditions which are known to inhibit digestion of the cellwall. (Received December 14, 1989; Accepted April 5, 1990)     

Interconversion of aflatoxin B1 and aflatoxicol by several fungi

Four fungal strains, namely, Aspergillus niger, Eurotium herbariorum, a Rhizopus sp., and non-aflatoxin (AF)-producing Aspergillus flavus, which could convert AF-B1 to aflatoxicol (AFL), could also reconvert AFL to AF-B1. The interconversion of AF-B1 to AFL and of AFL to AF-B1 was ascertained to occur during proliferation of the fungi. These reactions were distinctly observed in cell-free systems obtained from disrupted mycelia of A. flavus and the Rhizopus sp., but they were not observed in culture filtrates from intact (nondisrupted) mycelia of the same strains. The interconversion activities of AF-B1 and AFL were not observed when the cell-free systems were preheated at 100 degrees C. These findings strongly suggest that the interconversion of AF-B1 and AFL is mediated by intracellular enzymes of A. flavus and the Rhizopus sp. In addition, the isomerization of AFL-A to AFL-B observed in culture medium was also found to occur by the lowering of the culture pH.     

Changes in phospholipid composition of the mitochondrial membrane after orthotopic liver transplantation

Changes in phospholipids and their fatty acid composition in liver mitochondria obtained from allogenic rats with orthotopic liver transplants were measured with and without immunosuppressive treatment. In untreated allogenic rats, mitochondrial phosphorylation activity was severely deteriorated at 8 days after transplantation. A significant change was also found in the amount of cardiolipin compared with other classes of phospholipids. Namely, cardiolipin decreased, and lysodiphosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylglycerol increased concomitantly. Furthermore, the percentage of linoleic acid in cardiolipin decreased dramatically. Decrease in cardiolipin and changes in its fatty acid composition may be attributed to the deterioration of mitochondrial function upon acute rejection.     

Gene expression and immunohistochemical localization of basic fibroblast growth factor in renal cell carcinoma.

Renal cell carcinoma is known as a neoplastic condition of renal tubular cells and usually shows a hypervascular tumor in angiographic examination. We examined the presence of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in human renal cell carcinoma. To determine if alterations in bFGF gene expression are present in human renal cell carcinoma, paired samples of normal and neoplastic renal tissue from 6 patients were analyzed for bFGF mRNA content by Northern blot hybridization. In 4 out of 6 patients, tumor tissue expressed bFGF mRNA 2 to 4 times greater than corresponding normal tissue. Two patients showed minimal elevation of tumor bFGF mRNA. The localization of bFGF in the renal cell carcinoma tissue was also examined using immunohistochemical staining, and it was found that bFGF was positively stained at the nuclei of tumor cells and the cell surface. These results suggest that increased expression of bFGF may be associated with neoplastic growth in renal tubular epithelial cells and neovascularization.     

Cloning and characterization of two forms of C-type natriuretic peptide receptor in rat brain.

Two similar membrane bound guanylate cyclases (GC-A and GC-B) are known as natriuretic peptide receptors, but have not been well characterized yet. In this study, we have isolated two forms of GC-B cDNA clones along with GC-A cDNA clones from rat brain. The two forms of rat GC-B differ from each other only by 75bp deletion at 3'-flanking region of the putative transmembrane domain, the shorter form lacking the nucleotide binding site by the deletion. Expression of these cDNAs on mammalian cells revealed that (1) GC-B is a specific receptor for CNP whereas GC-A is stimulated effectively both by ANP and BNP, and (2) the two forms of GC-B possess practically the same high binding affinity for CNP while the shorter form could not induce cGMP production by the binding of CNP. These data indicate that in rat brain is present the non-functional receptor for CNP caused by the short deletion.