Aldehyde Oxidase in Wild Type and abal Mutant Leaves of Nicotiana plumbaginifolia

Aldehyde oxidase (AO; EC 1.2.3.1 [EC] ) activity was measured in rosetteleaves of the wild type and aba1 mutant (1217) of Nicotianaplumbaginifolia. An activity band was detected in the extractof the wild type by staining after gel electrophoresis usingcinnamaldehyde as a substrate, but not in that of 1217. However,after treatment with Na₂S and dithionite, an AO-activity bandwas detected in the extract of 1217 at the same position asthat of the wild type extract. These results indicated that1217 had AO apoprotein but the last step of molybdenum cofactorbiosynthesis, from nitrate reductase form (dioxo form) to hydroxylaseform (desulfo form), was blocked. Since abal is known to beimpaired in ABA synthesis, we examined whether the leaf AO isan abscisic aldehyde (ABAld) oxidase. AO was purified from theleaves of wild type plants. After several steps of purificationusing cinnamaldehyde as a substrate which has a structure similarto ABAld, a partially purified enzyme preparation with a purificationfactor of about 160-fold was obtained. The apparent molecularmass of AO was estimated to be approximately 290 kDa by gelfiltration. The enzyme had a relatively wide substrate specificityfor aldehydes including ABAld. The possible involvement of NicotianaAO in ABA biosynthesis is discussed. (Received June 24, 1998; Accepted September 21, 1998)     

Rat T lymphocyte-specific antigens and their cross-reactivity with mouse T cells.

Anti-rat T lymphocyte serum (ATLS)2 was prepared by immunizing rabbits with purified T cells from rat mesenteric nodes and absorbed with rat red cells and syngeneic sarcoma cells. The specificity of ATLS for rat T cells was confirmed by the following reasons: a) ATLS was not toxic for bone marrow cells but lysed most of the thymocytes and a number of spleen and lymph node cells, which were inversely correlated to the percentage of cells with B cell characteristics in respective organs; b) anatomical localization of ATLS-reactive cells in lymphoid organs coincided to the thymus-dependent areas, i.e. the paracortex of lymph node and the periarteriolar region of spleen; c) spleen cells treated with ATLS and complement failed to respond to phytohemagglutinin but normally responded to bacterial lipopolysaccharide; d) those cells treated with ATLS and complement could not induce a graft-vs-host reaction in F1 hosts, whereas the same treatment did not affect direct plaque-forming cells. All of these data confirm the specificity of ATLS and indicate that ATLS recognizes rat T lymphocyte-specific antigens (RTLA). Absorption studies showed that RTLA were present in higher concentration on medullary thymocytes and peripheral T cells than on cortical thymocytes, but absent from bone marrow, liver, and brain tissues. When the cross-reactivity of RTLA with mouse T cells was studied by C-dependent cytotoxicity and immunofluorescence, it was found that mouse T cells shared at least one determinant of RTLA with rat T cells, and that distribution pattern of the cross-reacting antigens in mouse lymphoid tissues was essentially the same as that of RTLA in rat lymphoid organs.     

Inhibition of Ischemia-Induced Dopamine Release by ω-Conotoxin, a Calcium Channel Blocker, in the Striatum of Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats: In Vivo Brain Dialysis Study

The effect of omega-conotoxin GVIA (CgTX), an N-and L-type voltage-sensitive calcium channel (VSCC) blocker, on the release of dopamine and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) in the striatum before and during transient cerebral ischemia in spontaneously hypertensive rats was studied using an in vivo brain dialysis technique. Continuous perfusion of CgTX in the striatum was started 20 min before ischemia and concentrations of dopamine and DOPAC in the dialysate were measured using HPLC with an electro-chemical detector. Before ischemia, both 10 and 100 microM CgTX significantly lowered the concentration of dopamine, to 49% of the basal values. DOPAC concentrations also decreased significantly, by 28 and 17%, respectively. Forebrain ischemia, produced by bilateral carotid artery occlusion, reduced striatal blood flow to less than 6% of the resting value in each group. During 20 min of ischemia, the vehicle group showed a marked increase in dopamine (175 times the basal concentration). In the 10 or 100 microM CgTX perfusion group, in contrast, dopamine release was significantly attenuated, to 38 or 29% of the vehicle group, respectively. DOPAC concentrations decreased during ischemia to 58% of the basal value in the vehicle group and 49% in both CgTX groups. These results indicate that the massive release of striatal dopamine during ischemia depends largely on the influx of extracellular calcium via CgTX-sensitive VSCCs.     

Characterization of kinetic folding intermediates of recombinant canine milk lysozyme by stopped-flow circular dichroism

The intermediate in the equilibrium unfolding of canine milk lysozyme induced by a denaturant is known to be very stable with characteristics of the molten globule state. Furthermore, there are at least two kinetic intermediates during refolding of this protein: a burst-phase (first) intermediate formed within the dead time of stopped-flow measurements and a second intermediate that accumulates with a rate constant of 22 s(-)(1). To clarify the relationships of these intermediates with the equilibrium intermediate, and also to characterize the structural changes of the protein during refolding, here we studied the kinetic refolding reactions using stopped-flow circular dichroism at 10 different wavelengths and obtained the circular dichroism spectra of the intermediates. Comparison of the circular dichroism spectra of the intermediates, as well as the absence of observed kinetics in the refolding from the fully unfolded state to the equilibrium intermediate, has demonstrated that the burst-phase intermediate is equivalent to the equilibrium intermediate. The difference circular dichroism spectrum that represented changes from the kinetic intermediate to the native state had characteristics of an exciton coupling band, indicating that specific packing of tryptophan residues in this protein occurred in this phase. From these findings, we propose a schematic model of the refolding of canine milk lysozyme that is consistent with the hierarchical mechanism of protein folding.     

Solution structure of the PWWP domain of the hepatoma-derived growth factor family

Among the many PWWP-containing proteins, the largest group of homologous proteins is related to hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF). Within a well-conserved region at the extreme N-terminus, HDGF and five HDGF-related proteins (HRPs) always have a PWWP domain, which is a module found in many chromatin-associated proteins. In this study, we determined the solution structure of the PWWP domain of HDGF-related protein-3 (HRP-3) by NMR spectroscopy. The structure consists of a five-stranded beta-barrel with a PWWP-specific long loop connecting beta2 and beta3 (PR-loop), followed by a helical region including two alpha-helices. Its structure was found to have a characteristic solvent-exposed hydrophobic cavity, which is composed of an abundance of aromatic residues in the beta1/beta2 loop (beta-beta arch) and the beta3/beta4 loop. A similar ligand binding cavity occurs at the corresponding position in the Tudor, chromo, and MBT domains, which have structural and probable evolutionary relationships with PWWP domains. These findings suggest that the PWWP domains of the HDGF family bind to some component of chromatin via the cavity.     

Synthesis and Properties of 2′4′- and 3′-5′-Linked Ribodinucleoside Monophosphates Containing 2-Aminoadenosine and Uridine

Abstract

Self complementary diribonucleoside monophosphates containing 2-aminoadenosine (n²A) and uridine (U) residues, (2′-5′) n²ApU (1), (3′-5′) n²ApU (2), (2′-5′) Upn²A (3) and (3′-5′) Upn²A (4), were synthesized by condensation of suitably protected nucleoside and nucleotide units using dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC). The dimers, (3) and (41, were also obtained from uridine 2′,3′-cyclic phosphate and unprotected 2-aminoadenosine using 2,4,6-triisopropylbenzenesulfonyl chloride (TPS-Cl) as the condensing agent. The conformational properties of these dimers were examined by UV, CD and NMR spectroscopy. The results reveal that the 2′-5′ isomers take a stacked conformation, which contains a larger base-base overlap and is more stable against thermal perturbation with respect to the 3′-5′ isomers. The n²ApU isomers have more stacked structure than the Upn²A isomers.     

Mitochondrial reactive zones in antiviral innate immunity

Mitochondria are multi-functioning organelles that participate in a wide range of biologic processes from energy metabolism to cellular suicide. Mitochondria are also involved in the cellular innate immune response against microorganisms or environmental irritants, particularly in mammals. Mitochondrial-mediated innate immunity is achieved by the activation of two discrete signaling pathways, the NLR family pyrin domain-containing 3 inflammasomes and the retinoic acid-inducible gene I-like receptor pathway. In both pathways, a mitochondrial outer membrane adaptor protein, called mitochondrial antiviral signaling MAVS, and mitochondria-derived components play a key role in signal transduction. In this review, we discuss current insights regarding the fundamental phenomena of mitochondrial-related innate immune responses, and review the specific roles of various mitochondrial subcompartments in fine-tuning innate immune signaling events. We propose that specific targeting of mitochondrial functions is a potential therapeutic approach for the management of infectious diseases and autoinflammatory disorders with an excessive immune response.