Decrease of NADH in HeLa cells in the presence of transferrin or ferricyanide

The short-term incubation of HeLa cells in the presence of diferric transferrin or ferricyanide, which are reduced externally by the transplasma membrane reductase, produces a stoichiometric decrease in NADH and increase in NAD+, which is stimulated by insulin. The NADP/NADPH ratio does not change during 15 min incubation with the oxidants. The total pyridine nucleotide pool of HeLa cells is not affected. Incubation with apotransferrin and ferrocyanide, which cannot act as oxidants for transmembrane electron transport, does not change the pyridine nucleotide concentrations in the cells. Our results show that NADH can act as the internal electron donor for the reduction of external oxidants by the transmembrane reductase. It appears that oxidation of NADH by the transmembrane electron transport using ferricyanide or iron transferrin as external electron acceptors is sufficient to stimulate growth in HeLa cells.     

Repair of potentially lethal radiation damage in confluent and non-confluent cultures of human hybrid cells

The repair of potentially lethal damage (PLDR) in a gamma-irradiated human hybrid cell line (skin fibroblast X HeLa) and its tumourigenic segregant has been studied as a function of cell density at the time of irradiation and during the postirradiation repair period. The data show that PLDR occurs in both non-confluent and confluent cultures of both cell lines. Furthermore, there is evidence that the extent of PLDR is dependent on cell density and that cell-cell contact may be an important factor in this regard.     

Subunit structure of the dihydrolipoyl transacylase component of branched-chain alpha-keto acid dehydrogenase complex from bovine liver. Mapping of the lipoyl-bearing domain by limited proteolysis

To characterize the lipoyl-bearing domain of the dihydrolipoyl transacylase (E2) component, purified branched-chain alpha-keto acid dehydrogenase complex from bovine liver was reductively acylated with [U-14C] alpha-ketoisovalerate in the presence of thiamin pyrophosphate and N-ethylmaleimide. Digestion of the modified complex with increasing concentrations of trypsin sequentially cleaved the E2 polypeptide chain (Mr = 52,000) into five radiolabeled lipoyl-containing fragments in the order of L1 (Mr = 28,000), L2 (Mr = 24,500), L3 (Mr = 21,000), L4 (Mr = 15,000) to L5 (Mr = 14,000) as determined by the autoradiography of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel. In addition, a lipoate-free inner E2 core consisting of fragment A (Mr = 26,000) and fragment B (Mr = 22,000) was produced. Fragment A contains the active site for transacylation reaction and fragment B is the subunit-binding domain. Fragment L5 and fragment B were stable and resistant to further tryptic digestion. Mouse antiserum against E2 reacted only with fragments L1, L2, and L3, and did not bind fragments L4, L5, A, and B as judged by immunoblotting analysis. The anti-E2 serum strongly inhibited the overall reaction catalyzed by the complex, but was without effect on the transacylation activity of E2. Measurement of incorporation of [1-14C]isobutyryl groups into the E2 subunit indicated the presence of 1 lipoyl residue/E2 chain. Based on the above data, a model is proposed in which the lipoyl-bearing domain is connected to the inner E2 core via a trypsin-sensitive hinge. The lipoyl-bearing domain contains five consecutive tryptic sites (L1 to L5), with the L1 site in the hinge region, and the L5 site next to the terminal lipoyl-binding sequence. An exposed and antigenic region is located between L1 and L4 tryptic sites of the lipoyl-bearing domain. The region accounts for about 24% of the E2 chain length. Binding of antibodies to this region probably impairs the mobility of the lipoyl-containing polypeptide, resulting in an interruption of the active-site interactions that are necessary for the overall reaction. The lack of antigenicity and resistance to tryptic digestion indicate a highly folded conformation for fragment L5, the limit polypeptide carrying the single lipoyl residue.     

长叶车前花叶病毒(HRV_(sh))外壳蛋白赖氨酸残基的修饰

我们曾报道长叶车前花叶病毒上海分离株(简称HRVsh)的外壳蛋白有二个赖氨酸残基,在PH8.5无变性剂存在的条件下,完整病毒颗粒表面的赖氨酸残基可与三硝基苯磺酸(TNPS)起反应,反应后的TNP-HRVsh病毒颗粒的感染力丧失达90％以上。 本文又进行了甲基乙亚胺甲酯(MEI)对HRVsh赖氨酸残基的修饰反应,修饰后的MEI-HRVsh病毒颗粒的感染力也同样丧失90％以上。 从三硝基苯磺酸修饰的病毒颗粒(TNP-HRVsh)中分离得到的RNA能与天然的HRVsh的外壳蛋白重建病毒颗粒,并具有感染力,说明修饰过程中核酸并不受影响。 进一步用同位素~(35)S,~(32)P双标记病毒,再以TNPS修饰标记的病毒,得到(~(35)S,~(32)P)-HRVsh及TNP-(~(35)S,~(32)P)-HRVsh。将两者分别接种于系统寄主青菜(Brassica chinensis)的一片叶片,一天后在非接种叶片上都可测得~(35)S,~(32)P的放射计数。其中,(~(35)S,~(32)P)-HRVsh的~(35)S/~(32)P比值降低了,而TNP-(~(35)S,~(32)P)-HRVsh的~(35)S/~(32)P比值保持不变。说明HRVsh外壳蛋白赖氨酸残基的修饰并不影响病毒颗粒进入寄主细胞,以及在寄主细胞间的转移。同位素双标记的结果表明,其感染力丧失的原因可能是由于上述修饰作用阻止了病毒在感染中所必须的脱壳过程。     

我国东喜马拉雅及其邻区牛肝菌目的研究（续）

本属与多种树种有菌根关系：如Pinus,Larix,Abies和Pseudotsuga,但在Larix林下,本菌往往与土壤中的鞣料相聚集,对周围某些植物根系不利。本属现知15种,本区6种。     

Murine polyspecific antibodies. I. Monoclonal and serum anti-DNA antibodies cross-reactive with 2,4,6-trinitrophenyl derivatives

Six anti-DNA hybridoma autoantibodies were prepared by fusing spleen cells from unimmunized MRL/MpJ/lpr/lpr female mice with BALB/c myeloma cells. The monoclonal antibodies were analyzed by solid-phase ELISA for antigen-binding specificities. Three antibodies (62A2, 85A5, and 43B2) bound ssDNA, TNP-KLH, and recognized an epitope(s) present on insolubilized proteins such as BSA, KLH, ferritin, and insulin. The antibodies bound, with a marked preference, TNP-KLH, either soluble or insoluble. The other three antibodies (35A1, 32C5, and 39D2) bound only ssDNA. However, this binding was inhibited by free flavinic acid. None of the six antibodies bound either cardiolipin or proteoglycans, indicating that they do not recognize the repeating negatively charge units common to cardiolipin, proteoglycans, and DNA. All six monoclonal antibodies were purified by affinity chromatography with TNP-Sepharose. Moreover, both anti-DNA and anti-TNP antibodies from sera of nonautoimmune and autoimmune mice were purified easily on TNP-Sepharose.     

Cell-cell interaction can influence drug-induced differentiation of murine embryonal carcinoma cells

When cultured in the presence of either retinoic acid (RA) or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), aggregates of the P19 line of mouse embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells differentiate and the spectrum of cell types formed depends on the drug dose. It is shown here the EC cells rapidly lose their colony-forming ability when cultured as aggregates in the presence of DMSO. This loss of plating efficiency (PE) also occurs rapidly following RA treatment. Loss of PE has been used as a quantitative procedure for assessing the rate of drug-induced differentiation. The relationship between drug dose and loss of PE is much steeper for DMSO than for RA, suggesting that these two drugs affect different stages of the differentiation decision-making apparatus. Mutant EC cell lines (D3 and RAC65) do not differentiate in the presence of drug-inducers (DMSO and RA, respectively). Neither differentiation-deficient mutant has an altered ability to form gap junctions. When D3 and P19 cells were mixed within the same DMSO-treated aggregates, the D3 cells remained undifferentiated and the P19 cells differentiated much less efficiently than if they were cultured in the absence of the D3 cells. When RAC65 and P19 cells were mixed in RA-treated aggregates, each cell responded to the drug as though the other were absent. Thus RA behaves as a cell-autonomous inducer of differentiation, whereas DMSO-induced differentiation seems to be mediated by interactions between neighboring cells.     

Three types of transmitter release from embryonic neurons

Prior to the contact with their target muscle cells in culture, growth cones of many isolated Xenopus embryonic neurons release acetylcholine (ACh) spontaneously. Using patch clamp techniques, this release can be detected by an outside-out patch of muscle membrane placed near the growth cone. Intracellular recording from innervated muscle cells showed spontaneous miniature endplate potentials (MEPPs) of varying amplitudes. Amplitude histograms showed a skewed distribution with multiple peaks, suggesting the existence of subunits in either the quantal packages of ACh released by the nerve terminal or in the postsynaptic muscle response. In addition to the quantal ACh release reflected by MEPPs, nerve terminal also release a large amount of ACh in a non-quantal fashion. This non-quantal ACh release is revealed by the hyperpolarization of the muscle membrane following extracellular application of curare or alpha-bungarotoxin, as well as by denervation of the muscle cell.     

Involvement of phospholipase A2 in norepinephrine release from synaptosomes isolated from rat cerebral cortex

Phospholipase A₂ added directly to superfused [³H]norepinephrine-labeled synaptosomes could cause the release of neurotransmitter molecules. Chloroquine and quinacrine, which block the action of phospholipase A₂, inhibited either the phospholipase A₂-stimulated or the high potassium-stimulated release of [³H]norepinephrine from synaptosomes. Only quinacrine blocked the high potassium-stimulated influx of Ca²⁺. It appears that during stimulation of synaptosomes, Ca²⁺ influx leads to the activation of phospholipase A₂, which in turn, hydrolyzes membrane phospholipids in situ. The formation of lysophospholipids may alter the microenvironment and the physicochemical properties of membranes, resulting in the release of neurotransmitter through exocytosis.