An establishment of ELISA for murine IL-6

Summary Murine interleukin-6 (mIL-6) was expressed inEscherichia coli as human growth hormone (hGH) fusion protein. The products were cleaved by thrombin to liberate mIL-6. Monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies specific to mIL-6 were prepared by immunizing rats with mIL-6 thus obtained. ELISA for the quantitation of mIL-6 was also established, which could detect mIL-6 in a quantity as low as 2 ng/ml.     

Identification of (Na,K)ATPase inhibitor in brine shrimp,Artemia salina,as long-chain fatty acids

Summary An inhibitory activity to (Na,K)ATPase was found in cell extracts of the brine shrimp, Artemia salina, irrespective of its developmental stages. Organic solvent extraction together with gas chromatographic analysis reveals that the inhibitory activity is due to long-chain, non-esterified fatty acids and their derivatives. Unsaturated fatty acids, especially with cis-configuration, are more effective in inhibition than saturated ones.Abbreviations ATPase adenosine triphosphatase - EDTA ethylenediamine-tetraacetate - TLC thin-layer chromatography     

Stimulation of ribosomal RNA synthesis during hypertrophic growth of cultured heart cells by phorbol ester

Primary cultures of neonatal cardiac myocytes were used to determine the effects of tumor-promoting phorbol esters on ribosomal RNA (rRNA) synthesis during myocyte growth. Treatment of myocytes with phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu) increased protein accumulation by 25% and RNA content by 20%. Rates of rRNA synthesis were measured to assess the mechanism by which rRNA accumulated during myocyte growth. Rates of rRNA synthesis were determined from the incorporation of [³H]uridine into UMP of purified rRNA and the specific radioactivity of the cellular UTP pool. After 24h of PDBu treatment, cellular rates of 18S and 28S rRNA synthesis were accelerated by 67% and 64%, respectively. The increased rate of rRNA synthesis accounted for the net increase in myocyte rRNA content after PDBu treatment.     

Immunohistochemical distribution of simple-epithelial-type keratins and other intermediate filament proteins in the developing human pituitary gland

Summary An immunohistochemical study of the production of the intermediate filaments [vimentin, cytokeratin, and glial filament acidic protein (GFAP)] during development of the pituitary gland was made by use of fetal and adult human pituitary tissue. Among these intermediate filament proteins in the anterior and intermediate lobes of the pituitary, cytokeratin is the first to appear, followed by GFAP and vimentin. However, only cytokeratin is seen during the period of morphogenesis of the pituitary gland, with the type-II subfamily cytokeratin 8 being the earliest to appear. Among the simple-epithelial-type cytokeratins, cytokeratins 8 and 19 were observed within the pituitary primordium during morphogenesis. Cells immunoreactive for cytokeratins 8 and 19 showed a heterogeneous three-dimensional distribution pattern in Rathke's pouch. Both cytokeratins 8 and 19 tended to be strongly positive at sites in the pituitary primordium where cells had become more loosely arranged (i.e., areas far from the diencephalon) but were only weakly positive in areas in which the epithelial cells were densely packed (i.e., areas closely associated with the diencephalon). It is concluded that, during the period of morphogenesis, Rathke's pouch has the intermediate filaments characteristic of simple epithelium and shows different immunoreactivity for simple-epithelial-type cytokeratins from place to place according to the extent of cellular differentiation.     

Altered localization of antigen recognized by proteinuriainducing monoclonal antibody in experimental nephrosis

Change in the localization of the antigen recognized by the proteinuria-inducing monoclonal antibody (MA) 5-1-6 in experimental nephrosis was studied by indirect and biotin-avidin immunofluorescence, and immunoperoxidase at light and electron microscopical levels. The proteinuric state was induced by the administration of the aminonucleoside of puromycin (PAN) or adriamycin. The antigen decreased in quantity and/or its distribution changed with an increase in the amount of protein excreted in both experimental models. Recovery from the alterations observed during the development and proteinuria appeared to occur when PAN-induced proteinuria subsided. This antigenic molecule may thus be essential for maintaining the normal permselectivity of glomerular capillary walls.     

Isolation and regional localization of a large collection (2,000) of single-copy DNA fragments on human chromosome 3 for mapping and cloning tumor suppressor genes

Summary A collection of 2,000 lambda phage-carrying human single-copy inserts (> 700 bp) were isolated from two chromosome-3 flow-sorted libraries. The single-copy DNA fragments were first sorted into 3p and 3q locations and about 700 3p fragments were regionally mapped using a deletion mapping panel comprised of two humanhamster and two-human-mouse cell hybrids, each containing a chromosome 3 with different deletions in the short arm. The hybrids were extensively mapped with a set of standard 3p markers physically localized or ordered by linkage. The deletion mapping panel divided the short arm into five distinct subregions (A-E). The 3p fragments were distributed on 3p regions as follows: region A, 26%; B, 31%; C, 4%; D, 4% and E, 35%. We screened 300 single-copy DNA fragments from the distal part of 3p (regions A and B) with ten restriction endonucleases for their ability to detect restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs). Of these fragments 110 (36%) were found to detect useful RFLPs: 35% detected polymorphisms with frequency of heterozygosity of 40% or higher, and 25% with frequency of 30% or higher. All polymorphisms originated from single loci and most of them were of the base pair substitution type. These RFLP markers make it possible to construct a fine linkage map that will span the distal part of chromosome 3p and encompasses the von Hippel-Lindau disease locus. The large number of single-copy fragments (2,000) spaced every 100–150 kb on chromosome 3 will make a significant contribution to mapping and sequencing the entire chromosome 3. The 300 conserved chromosome 3 probes will increase the existing knowledge of man-mouse homologies.     

A novel actin label: a fluorescent probe at glutamine-41 and its consequences

By peptide isolation and analysis, it has been shown that the dansyl fluorophore of dansylcadaverine [N-(5-aminopentyl)-5-(dimethylamino)naphthalene-1-sulfonamide] transfers to Gln-41 of actin from rabbit skeletal muscle when the reaction is catalyzed by guinea pig liver transglutaminase. As a function of time, the degree of labeling asymptotically approaches 1 mol of dansyl/l mol of actin. About 80-85% of the attached dansyl fluorophore was found at Gln-41. Such labeled G-actin polymerizes to the same extent as control actin, but the polymerization rate is greater and the critical concentration is less than for control actin. Complete polymerization is accompanied by a 1.5-2.0-fold increase in the emission intensity of the attached fluorophore. Labeled F-actin thus obtained activates myosin subfragment 1 (S-1) Mg2+-ATPase activity with the same Kapp, and to the same Vmax, as control actin; moreover, when such labeled F-actin is cross-linked to S-1 by 1-ethyl-3-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]carbodiimide, the resulting superactivation of Mg2+-ATPase is the same as that attained with control actin. The attributes of this label thus make it an ideal reporter of events in the N-terminal 10-kilodalton region of actin, and a new topological point for proximity mapping.     

Interferon gamma modulates the ability of autologous non-T cells to stimulate T cells to produce and respond to interleukin 2

The interactions of T-cell receptor with self-Ia antigen on non-T cells induced IL-2 production and IL-2 receptors on the cell surface and thus responsiveness to IL-2 of T cells in autologous mixed-lymphocyte reaction (AMLR). Four-day-cultured autologous non-T cells lost their ability to stimulate T cells to produce and respond to IL-2 with concurrent decrease of HLA-DR and HLA-DQ antigen expressed on the cell surface. Culturing of non-T cells with 500 U/ml of recombinant interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) maintained their stimulating ability which was otherwise lost. Treatment of non-T cells with monoclonal anti-HLA-DR or anti-HLA-DQ antibody before mixture with T cells abrogated their ability to induce IL-2 production and IL-2 responsiveness of T cells. The combined data suggested that Ia antigen expressed on non-T cells is modulated by IFN-gamma, which increases the ability of non-T cells to stimulate autologous T cells to produce and respond to IL-2.     

Cytological characterization of NOR in the bivalent of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We cytologically characterized the nucleolar organizer region (NOR) on the bivalent in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We used staining with 4'-6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI), chromomycin A3, and silver nitrate and in situ hybridization technique and utilized a video-intensified microscope system with an ultra-high-sensitive video camera. The results showed that of 16 bivalents of S. cerevisiae, the longest was a recognizable nucleolar chromosome which has an annular and synaptonemal complexless NOR in its submedian portion. The NOR was comprised of 2.65 X 10(9) D DNA which corresponded to 118 copies per haploid of rDNA repeating units. This evidence is discussed in terms of the possible participation of the annular NOR in suppressing the meiotic recombination of the rDNA gene clusters.