Phytanyl-glycerol ethers and squalenes in the archaebacteriumMethanobacterium thermoautotrophicum

Summary The lipids of a thermophilic chemolithotroph,Metbanobacterium thermoautotropbicum, have been analyzed by chromatographic techniques and identified by infrared spectrometry and combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Of the total chloroform soluble lipids 79% and 21% are polar and non-polar lipids, respectively. The major components of the polar lipids are dialkyl ethers of glycerol or its derivatives. The nature of the glycerol ether alkyl groups was found to be that of the saturated tetraisoprenoid hydrocarbon phytane. The non-polar lipids of the chloroform soluble fraction consist principally of three series of C₂₀, C₂₅ and C₃₀ acyclic isoprenoid hydrocarbons, the major components being squalene and a continuous range of hydrosqualene derivatives, from dihydrosqualene up to and including decahydrosqualene. These data establish thatM. tbermoautotropbicum contains predominantly non-sapo-nifiable lipids as doHalobacterium, Halococcus, Sulfolobus andTbermoplasma. In particular, the composition of the chloroform soluble lipids ofM. tbermoautotropbicum is quite similar to that ofHalobacterium cutirubrum. The results strongly support the recent proposal, based on 16S rRNA sequence homologies, that the extreme halophiles and methanogens share a common ancestor. In addition, it is pointed out that the occurrence of phytane and related polyisoprenoid compounds in ancient sediments can no longer be considered unequivocally as indicative of past photosynthetic activity. Finally, speculations are made concerning the possible role of and evolutionary significance of the presence of squalene and hydrosqualenes in these organisms. To our knowledge this is the first report of squalene and hydrosqualenes in a strictly anaerobic microorganism.To either of whom reprint requests should be sent.     

Functional disturbances in brain following injury

It was shown previously that local cerebral glucose utilization is less than 50% of normal in all cortical areas of rat brain 3 days following a focal freeze-lesion and that this effect of trauma is significantly diminished by dexamethasone (0.25 mg/Kg/day), and by indomethacin (7.5 mg/Kg single dose). To elucidate the mechanism of action of steroids and non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs in traumatized brain, the effects of dexamethasone and indomethacin on arachidonic acid release, malondialdehyde production and prostaglandin synthesis in the lesion area were investigated. Five seconds after a freezing lesion arachidonic acid was significantly increased in the lesion area of untreated animals. Neither dexamethasone nor indomethacin had any effect on this release. The thiobarbituric acid reaction, as an estimate of malondialdehyde and non-enzymatic free radical lipoperoxide formation from unsaturated free fatty acids showed no change in the control and lesion areas of untreated and both dexamethasone and indomethacin treated groups. There was a marked increase in PGF2 alpha, PGE2, PGD2 in the lesion area of untreated animals. Indomethacin prevented the formation of prostaglandins by more than 90% while dexamethasone had no effect. These results suggest that some components of the arachidonic acid metabolism must be involved in functional disturbances resulting from trauma while steroid action is mediated in injured brain independently from the prostaglandin cascade.     

Presence of coenzyme M derivatives in the prosthetic group (coenzyme MF430) of methylcoenzyme M reductase from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum

2-Mercaptoethanesulfonic acid (coenzyme M), or a derivative of it, and a yellow chromophore, known as the nickel-containing tetrapyrrole factor F₄₃₀, occur in the prosthetic group of methylcoenzyme M reductase in an equimolar amount, and bound to each other; this enzyme catalyzes the final step of methane production. The prosthetic group, which is called coenzyme MF₄₃₀, was isolated from the purified enzyme and was extracted from cells. The presence of coenzyme M was confirmed by a bioassay using Methanobrevibacter ruminantium and by the use of chemical and physicochemical analyses.     

Lipolysis is a prerequisite for lipid accumulation in HepG2 cells induced by large hypertriglyceridemic very low density lipoproteins.

Lipoprotein kinetic studies have demonstrated that a large proportion of Sf 60-400 very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) is cleared directly from the circulation in Type IV hypertriglyceridemic subjects, at an unknown tissue site. The present studies were designed to investigate the role of hepatocytes in this process and to define the conditions, whereby Type IV Sf 60-400 VLDL would induce lipid accumulation in HepG2 cells. Type IV VLDL (Sf 60-400) failed to augment the total cholesterol, esterified cholesterol, or triglyceride content of HepG2 cells following 24-h incubations. Coincubation of bovine milk lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and Type IV VLDL with HepG2 cells induced a 3-fold increment in cellular esterified cholesterol mass (p less than 0.005) and a 7-fold increase in cellular triglyceride mass (p less than 0.005), compared to VLDL alone. The increased cellular lipid mass was associated with increased oleate incorporation into cellular cholesterol esters and triglycerides. Exogenous LPL hydrolyzed 76% of the VLDL triglyceride over 24 h. LPL action on Type IV VLDL was sufficient to promote cellular uptake of these lipoproteins, while elevated media-free fatty acid levels were not. Although HepG2 cells secrete apolipoprotein (apo) E, we assessed the role of VLDL-associated apoE in the lipid accumulation induced by VLDL plus LPL. ApoE-rich and apoE-poor Type IV VLDL subfractions induced similar increments in cellular esterified cholesterol in the presence of LPL, despite a 4-fold difference in apoE content. Sf 60-400 VLDL, from subjects homozygous for the defective apoE2, plus LPL, behaved identically to Type IV VLDL plus LPL. Type IV VLDL plus LPL, preincubated with anti-apoE (1D7) and apoB (5E11) monoclonal antibodies, known to block the binding of apoE and -B, respectively, to the LDL receptor failed to block lipid accumulation. In contrast, apoE-poor Type IV VLDL, apoE2 VLDL, and VLDL plus 1D7 were taken up poorly by J774 cells, cells that secrete LPL, but not apoE. These studies suggest that lipolytic remodeling of large Type IV VLDL by LPL is a prerequisite for their uptake by HepG2 cells and that HepG2 cell-secreted apoE rather than VLDL-associated apoE is the ligand involved in uptake.     

Purification and characterization of a cytosolic insulin-stimulated serine kinase from rat liver.

A cytosolic insulin-sensitive serine kinase has been purified to apparent homogeneity in parallel from livers of control or acutely insulin-treated rats. The kinase is labile and requires rapid purification for stability. The kinase migrates as a band of apparent Mr = 90,000 on denaturing gels and elutes as a monomer on Superose 12 gel filtration. After sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and renaturation, the 90-kDa band presumed to be the kinase shows kinase activity toward myelin basic protein in situ. Substrates of the kinase include Leu-Arg-Arg-Ala-Ser-Leu-Gly (Kemptide), ribosomal protein S6, S6 peptide, a proline-rich peptide substrate, microtubule-associated protein 2, and myelin basic protein. The kinase also phosphorylates histones H1 and H2B, but does not autophosphorylate to a significant stoichiometry. The activity of the kinase is inhibited by fluoride, glycerophosphate, p-nitrophenyl phosphate, p-nitrophenol, heparin, quercetin, poly-L-lysine, and potassium phosphate, but is unaffected by calcium, cAMP, spermine, protein kinase inhibitor peptide, phorbol myristate acetate, calcium plus phosphatidylserine, or vanadate. The kinase will utilize magnesium (10 mM) as well as manganese (1 mM) as a cofactor for maximal phosphotransferase activity. The kinase is not detected by immunoblotting with antibodies directed against protein kinase C or type II S6 kinase. Taken together, these properties distinguish this kinase from other insulin-sensitive kinases that have been described previously. The purified kinase from livers of insulin-treated rats shows a 5-20-fold higher specific activity compared to enzyme prepared from control rats, suggesting a covalent modification as the mechanism of activation. Incubation of purified, insulin-stimulated kinase with purified phosphatase 2A leads to deactivation of the kinase activity, and the phosphatase inhibitor nitrophenyl phosphate blocks this deactivation. The insulin-activated kinase fails to immunoblot with anti-tyrosine phosphate antibodies. Taken together, these results indicate that insulin activates this novel cytosolic protein kinase by a mechanism that causes its phosphorylation on serine or threonine residues.     

Low hydration phase properties of phospholipid mixtures

An experimental investigation of the low hydration phase properties of phospholipid mixtures is described. ²H (D₂O) NMR, X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry have been used to elucidate the phase properties of mixtures of the mixed chain phospholipids palmitoyloleoylphosphatidylcholine (POPC) and palmitoyloleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (POPE). At 10% hydration pure POPE exhibited a H_II phase above 330 K, a fluid lamellar phase below 315 K, and a minimally hydrated crystalline phase below 300 K. For the 1:1 mixture, the samples exhibited only gel or fluid phases between 270 K and 360 K for hydrations in the range 15% to 30%. Below 15% hydration the mixture exhibited two fluid phases with different repeat spacings, as predicted previously.     

The formylmethanofuran:tetrahydromethanopterin formyltransferase from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum delta H. Nucleotide sequence and functional expression of the cloned gene

The formylmethanofuran:tetrahydromethanopterin formyltransferase (FTR) from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum delta H was cloned and its sequence was determined. The clone was contained on a 4.8-kilobase BamHI fragment of M. thermoautotrophicum DNA ligated into pBR329. When this fragment was subcloned into the phagemid pTZ18R, a functional enzyme was synthesized under control of the lac promoter. Sequence analysis revealed the presence of a ribosome binding site and a possible terminator structure. The absence of an identifiable promoter lends credibility to the open reading frame which is present 5' to ftr. The ftr gene encodes an acidic protein with a calculated molecular weight of 31,401. The sequence of FTR does not appear to be homologous to any other sequenced proteins, including proteins which use pterin substrates.     

Long-term effects of dexamethasone and nerve growth factor on adrenal medullary cells cultured from young adult rats

Summary Normal postnatal rat chromaffin cells and rat pheochromocytoma cells are known to show extensive Nerve Growth Factor (NGF)-induced process outgrowth in culture, and this outgrowth from the postnatal chromaffin cells is abolished by the corticosteroid dexamethasone. To determine whether adult rat chromaffin cells respond to NGF and dexamethasone, dissociated adrenal medullary cells from 3-month-old rats were cultured for 30 days in the presence or absence of these agents. Such cultures contained typical chromaffin cells, chromaffin cells with processes, and neurons. Fewer than 2 % of normal adult chromaffin cells formed processes under any of the conditions studied, and statistically significant changes in this proportion were not detectable in the presence of NGF or dexamethasone. Adrenal medullary neurons, however, were observed only in the presence of NGF, in cultures with or without dexamethasone, and thus appear to be previously unreported NGF targets which require NGF for survival or process outgrowth. Dexamethasone markedly increased total catecholamine content, total content of epinephrine, and tyrosine hydroxylase activity in cultures with or without NGF. In contrast, postnatal rat chromaffin and rat pheochromocytoma cells which have been studied in culture do not produce epinephrine under any of these conditions. It is concluded that rat adrenal chromaffin cells undergo age-related changes in both structural and functional plasticity. The in vitro characteristics of rat pheochromocytoma cells more closely resemble those of postnatal than of adult rat chromaffin cells, but may not entirely reflect the properties of the majority of chromaffin cells in either age group.