Prenatal diagnosis of I-cell disease.

A pregnancy from a family in risk of I-cell disease was monitored. The fetus was diagnosed as having I-cell disease based on the findings that (1) lysosomal enzyme activities except for acid phosphatase and alpha glucosidase were clearly elevated in amniotic fluid and were reduced in cultivated amniotic fluid cells, and (2) cytoplasmic inclusions were seen in cultivated amniotic cells by phase contrast microscopy. The accuracy of prediction was confirmed by cultured skin fibroblast of the aborted fetus.     

Genetic Behavior of R Factors in Vibrio cholerae

The fi⁺ and fi⁻ R factors are unstable in Vibrio cholerae even on selective media containing antibiotics, although a temperature-sensitive kanamycin resistance factor and its recombinants are stably maintained in V. cholerae at low temperatures.     

High level expression of chicken muscle adenylate kinase in Escherichia coli

Chicken muscle adenylate kinase was produced in a large amount in Escherichia coli cells harboring an expression plasmid, pKK-cAKl-1. The plasmid was constructed by placing the cDNA sequence for chicken muscle adenylate kinase after the tac promoter. After induction by isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside, the enzyme protein amounted to about 10% of the bacterial proteins. The enzyme was readily purified in two steps by using phosphocellulose and Sephadex G-100 columns. The apparent molecular weight of the enzyme produced in E. coli was estimated to be 22,000 on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, in agreement with the value deduced from the cDNA sequence. Ten amino acids in the NH2-terminal region were determined, and were identical with the sequence deduced from the cDNA sequence except that the terminal methionine was absent. Michaelis constants for ATP, ADP, and AMP of the enzyme thus synthesized were essentially identical to those determined with the enzyme in crude extracts of chicken skeletal muscle.     

Intranasal administration of alpha-human natriuretic peptide produces a prolonged diuresis in healthy man

The effects of an intranasal administration of synthetic alpha-human natriuretic polypeptide (alpha-hANP) were studied in 8 healthy male volunteers. They were given an intranasal administration of alpha-hANP at doses of 0.56-0.62 microgram/kg twice in the same day, the first and second administrations being separated by 180 min. Urine volume and urinary sodium excretion increased 2 to 3-fold 60 min after each administration. There were no significant changes in blood pressure, heart rate, glomerular filtration rate, plasma renin activity and plasma concentration of aldosterone, cortisol and catecholamines. The intranasal administration of alpha-hANP was well tolerated by the volunteers, and no untoward effect was observed. The results suggest that alpha-hANP can be used as a nasal spray in patients with overhydration.     

CS-514, a competitive inhibitor of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase: tissue-selective inhibition of sterol synthesis and hypolipidemic effect on various animal species

CS-514 is a tissue-selective inhibitor of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase, a key enzyme in cholesterol synthesis. For the microsomal enzyme from rat liver, the mode of inhibition is competitive with respect to hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA, and the Ki value is 2.3 X 10(-9) M. CS-514 also strongly inhibited the sterol synthesis from [14C]acetate in cell-free enzyme systems from rat liver and in freshly isolated rat hepatocytes; the concentrations required for 50% inhibition were 0.8 ng/ml and 2.2 ng/ml, respectively. On the other hand, the inhibition by CS-514 was much less in the cells from nonhepatic tissues such as freshly isolated rat spleen cells, and cultured mouse L cells and human skin fibroblasts. In addition, the cellular uptake of 14C-labeled CS-514 by isolated rat spleen cells or mouse L cells was less than one-tenth of that by isolated hepatocytes. These differences between hepatic and nonhepatic cells were further confirmed by the fact that CS-514 orally administered to rats inhibited sterol synthesis selectively in liver and intestine, the major sites of cholesterogenesis. CS-514 markedly reduced serum cholesterol levels in dogs, monkeys and rabbits, including Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic (WHHL) rabbits, an animal model for familial hypercholesterolemia in man, but did not reduce those in rats and mice. In the former case, preferential lowering of atherogenic lipoproteins was observed in all of the animals tested. The biliary neutral sterols significantly decreased, whereas the amount of biliary bile acids was not affected by administration of the drug to dogs.     

Occurrence of Yersinia enterocolitica in wild animals.

Yersinia species were isolated from 16 of 495 small wild animals and from 1 of 38 foxes. The animals were trapped in seven regions of Hokkaido, Japan. Of the 17 strains isolated, 9 were Yersinia enterocolitica O6; 2 were Y. enterocolitica O5A; 1 was Y. enterocolitica, O4; 1 was Y. enterocolitica O9; 1 was Yersinia pseudotuberculosis IVB; and 3 were sucrose-negative strains. Yersinia pestis was not isolated. The O6 organism was most prevalent in large red-back mice (Clethrionomys rufocanus bedfordiae) and showed significant differences in its mode of distribution according to region. Incidence of the O6 organism in the ileum of the animal was threefold that in the cecum, and the organism was recovered at approximately 10(5) cells per g of cecal contents per c. rufocanus bedfordiae animal.     

Change in chemical composition of membrane of Bacillus caldotenax after shifting the growth temperature

Membranes from Bacillus caldotenax contain neutral lipids and phospholipids such as phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidyl glycerol and cardiolipin. Each of the lipids has almost the same fatty acid composition. When the growth temperature decreases, not only the fatty acid composition but also the lipid composition changes such that the membrane fluidity increases, and the composition of membrane-bound proteins also changes. On shifting the growth temperature from 65° to 45°C, the bacterium grows immediately with a doubling time at 45°C, but the compositions of proteins and lipids in membranes gradually change and reach the compositions typical of cells growing at 45°C one doubling time after the temperature shift, respectively. It is concluded that the change in chemical composition of membrane of the bacterium on the temperature shift from 65° to 45°C is not prerequisite for growth at 45°C.     

Fine structure of isolated mesophyll protoplasts of tobacco

Summary Protoplasts of palisade cells isolated enzymatically from mature leaves of tobacco were studied with the electron microscope. A cell wall was completely absent, and the chloroplasts contained large inclusion bodies which were believed to be a crystalline form of fraction I protein. The fine structure of the protoplasts was otherwise that of healthy mesophyll cells, indicating that they are in a good physiological state. Some protoplasts were multinucleate as a result of fusion during the isolation process.