Stabile production of a thrombin resistant pro-urokinase derivative (PRO-UKS1) by Namalwa KJM-1 cells adapted to serum-free medium

Pro-UKS1 was designed as a thrombin-resistant derivative of pro-urokinase (pro-UK) by introducing a glycosylation site using site-directed mutagenesis. An expression plasmid for pro-UKS1, pMo1UKS1SEd1-5, was constructed and introduced into Namalwa KJM-1 cells (Hosoiet al., 1988), and cells resistant to G418 and Methotrexate (MTX) were obtained. Amongst them, the highest pro-UKS1 producer (resistant to 500 nM of MTX), clone 41-8, was selected and further characterized. Clone 41-8 was cultured in serum-free ITPSGF medium (Hosoiet al., 1988). Under the conventional conditions, the concentration of pro-UKS1 reached 26 g ml^–1. Addition of glucose and tri-iodothyronine (T₃) improved productivity, and the maximal productivity of pro-UKS1 was 67 g ml^–1 day^–1. In this conditioned medium, content of pro-UKS1 was above 80% of total proteins.Abbreviations BSA bovine serum albumin - dhfr dihydrofolate reductase - HEPES 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid - kb kilobase pairs - kDa kilodaltons - MTX Methotrexate - PBS phosphate buffered saline - pro-UK pro-urokinase - SDS-PAGE sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis - T₃ tri-iodothyronine - Tween-PBS phosphate buffered saline containing 0.05% Tween 80     

The sensitivity of halobacteria to antibiotics

Abstract Eleven species of the genera Halobacterium, Halococcus and the recently proposed Haloarcula were tested by the macro-broth dilution method for their sensitivity to 20 antibiotics with different modes of action. The most active were bacitracin, erythromycin, haloquinone, rifampicin and novobiocin. Resistant mutants of H. mediterranei to bacitracin, chloramphenicol and josamycin were obtained with frequencies of spontaneous mutation between 10⁻⁴ and 10⁻⁷.     

Structure and biosynthesis of teichoic acids in the cell walls of Staphylococcus xylosus DSM 20266

The simultaneous occurrence of a N-acetylglucosaminyl poly(ribitolphosphate) (-GlcNAc) and a N-acetylglucosaminyl poly(glycerolphosphate) (-GlcNAc) in the cell walls of Staphylococcus xylosus DSM 20266 was demonstrated by different experimental lines:(1) Fractionation of extracted cell wall teichoic acid on DEAE-cellulose, (2) investigation of the composition of cell walls in the growth cycle, (3) in vitro biosynthesis using crude membranes as the source of enzyme.The polymerization of these polymers starts from CDP-ribitol and CDP-glycerol, respectively. In the presence of UDP-N-acetylglucosamine both polymers are substituted with N-acetylglucosamine at a level and with the identical anomeric configuration found in the native cell wall teichoic acids. The in vitro biosynthesis of poly(glycerolphosphate) was unique in that it was highly stimulated by UDP-N-acetylglucosamine and to a lower extent by other UDP-activated sugars. Kinetic studies have provided evidence that this stimulation is due to an increase of V _max while K _m is unchanged. Competition experiments have indicated that poly(ribitolphosphate) and poly(glycerolphosphate) were synthesized in the in vitro system in a close spatial relationship.Abbreviations ADP adenosine 5-diphospho - CDP cytidine 5-diphospho - GDP guanosine 5-diphospho - GalNAc N-acetyl-galactosamine - Glc glucose, glucosyl - GlcNAc N-acetyl-glucosamine - N acetylglucosaminyl - GlcUA glucuronic acid - Gro glycerol - Man mannose, mannosyl - Rit ribitol - SDS sodium dodecyl sulfate - UDP uridine 5-diphospho     

Selection and characterization of a feedback-insensitive tissue culture of maize

Tissue culture selection techniques were used to isolate a maize (Zea mays L.) variant D33, in which the aspartate family pathway was less sensitive to feedback inhibition by lysine. D33 was recovered by successively subculturing cultures originally derived from immature embryos on MS medium containing growth-inhibitory levels of lysine+threonine. The ability of D33 to grow vigorously on lysine+ threonine medium was retained after growth for 12 months on nonselection medium. New cultures initiated from shoot tissues of plants regenerated from D33 also were resistant to lysine+threonine inhibition. The K_i of aspartokinase for its feedback inhibitor, lysine, was about 9-fold higher in D33 than for the enzyme from unselected cultures. The free pools of lysine, threonine, isoleucine and methionine were increased 2–9-fold in D33 cultures. This was consistent with the observed change in feedback regulation of aspartokinase, the first enzyme common to the biosynthesis of these amino acids in the aspartate pathway. The accumulated evidence including the stability of resistance in the cultures, the resistance of cultures initiated from regenerated plants, the altered feedback regulation, and the increased free amino acids, indicates a mutational origin for these traits in line D33.Abbreviation LT lysine+threonine in equimolar concentration Paper No. 10880, Scientific Journal Series, Minnesota Agricultural Expertment Station     

Antimicrobial defense mechanisms in the horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus: preliminary observations with heat-derived extracts of Limulus amoebocyte lysate.

Heat-derived (60°C) extracts of Limulus amoebocyte lysate (LAL) were found to contain potent “broad-spectrum” antimicrobial activity. Additional heating of the LAL extracts to 100°C for 30 min completely inactivated the antimicrobial activity and served as a control. Antimicrobial activity was observed over a temperature range of 0° to 37°C (higher temperatures not tested) with greatest activity at 37°C. Antimicrobial activity of LAL extracts was variable when tested against Gram-negative bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. A twofold concentration of the extracts resulted in a significant decrease in antimicrobial effectiveness. Dialysis of single- and double-strength LAL extracts against deionized water produced a marked and significant enhancement of antimicrobial activity against both resistant and sensitive species, confirming the presence of a dialyzable inhibitor(s). Dialyzed LAL extracts were active against 13 of 14 species of Enterobacteriaceae tested. Two strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were susceptible as were two of three Gram-positive cocci tested. Highly sensitive bacterial species were rapidly killed with a greater than 90% reduction in viable counts occurring within the first 30 min of reaction time. Dialyzed LAL extracts also possessed considerable antifungal activity. The role of the Limulus polyphemus amoebocyte in defense against microbial invasion and dissemination is discussed.     

Effect of chlorambucil and indomethacin on growth and prostaglandin levels in sensitive and resistant walker carcinoma

An analysis of the effect of combinations of chlorambucil and indomethacin, or chlorambucil and prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) on the growth of alkylating agent sensitive and resistant Walker carcinoma in vitro has been made by the isobologram approach. Indomethacin alone acts as a growth inhibitor of the Walker carcinoma. High concentrations of indomethacin (5 μg/ml) act to inhibit the growth of the resistant line sub-additively with chlorambucil, whereas low concentrations act additively. For the sensitive line indomethacin acts either additively or supra-additively with chlorambucil at all concentrations employed. Both indomethacin and low concentrations of chlorambucil alone inhibit PGE₂ secretion into the culture medium of both cell lines and an enhanced inhibition is seen with the combination. PGE₂ itself acts as a growth inhibitor of both cell lines, although it causes greater growth inhibition of chlorambucil resistant Walker carcinoma (LD₅₀ 1.8 μg/ml) than of the sensitive line. This correlates with a greater PGE₂ secretion capacity by the resistant cell line (40 pg PGE₂/ml medium/10⁵ cells for the resistant tumour and 17 pg PGE₂/ml medium/10⁵ cells for the sensitive tumour). Combinations of PGE₂ with chlorambucil inhibit growth either additively or sub-additively. It seems unlikely that inhibition of PGE₂ secretion is responsible for the interactive effects of chlorambucil and indomethacin, since growth inhibition produced by the combination is not reversed by PGE₂ at any of the concentrations employed. Possible mechanisms of the interactive effects are discussed.     

Molybdenum cofactor from the cytoplasmic membrane of Proteus mirabilis

Molybdenum cofactor was extracted from membranes of Proteus mirabilis by three methods: acidification, heat treatment and heat treatment in the presence of sodium-dodecylsulphate (SDS). Extracts prepared by the latter method contained the highest concentration of molybdenum cofactor. In these extracts molybdenum cofactor was present in a low molecular weight form. It could not penetrate an YM-2 membrane during ultrafiltration suggesting a molecular weight above 1000. During aerobic incubation of cofactor extracts from membranes at least four fluorescent species were formed as observed in a reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system. The species in the first peak was inhomogeneous while the species in the others seem to be homogenous. In water, all fluorescent products had an excitation maximum at 380 nm and an emission maximum at 455 nm. Their absorption spectra showed maxima at around 270 nm and 400 nm. Fluorescent compounds present in the first peak could penetrate an YM-2 membrane during ultrafiltration, whereas the compounds in the other peaks hardly did. Using xanthine oxidase from milk as source of molybdenum cofactor apparently identical cofactor species were found. Cytoplasmic nor membrane extracts of the chlorate resistant mutant chl S 556 of P. mirabilis could complement nitrate reductase of Neurospora crassa nit-1 in the presence of 20 mM molybdate. However, fluorescent species with identical properties as found for the wild-type were formed during aerobic incubation of extracts from membranes of this mutant.Non-common Abbreviations HPLC high performance liquid chromatography - I.D. internal diameter - SDS sodium dodecyl sulphate     

Cloning of alkaline phosphatase isozyme gene (iap) of Escherichia coli

In Escherichia coli three major alkaline phosphatase isozymes are formed by molecular conversions depending on physiological conditions. A chromosomal gene, iap, is responsible for alkaline phosphatase isozyme conversion and is assumed to code for a proteolytic enzyme removing the arginine residue(s) from the N-terminal position of alkaline phosphatase subunits. A chromosomal fragment which complemented the Iap^? phenotype was cloned into pBR322 by a shotgun method. Transducing phage λiap was constructed in vitro from the chromosomal fragment containing the iap gene and λtna DNA. The integration site of the phage on chromosome was identified as the iap locus by PI transduction, which meant that the cloned chromosomal DNA contained authentic iap gene.The restriction map of the hybrid plasmid was constructed. Based upon this information, several iap deletion plasmids as well as smaller iup⁺ plasmids were constructed. Analysis of the phenotypes conferred by these plasmids enabled us to locate iap gene within a 2-kb segment of the cloned DNA.The cells carrying the iap⁺ plasmid showed very efficient isozyme conversion even in medium containing arginine, an inhibitor for the isozyme conversion. This indicates overproduction of the iap gene product.     

Cloning and sequencing of cDNA for mouse liver metallothionein-I

Metallothionein mRNA was purified from liver of mice injected with cadmium. The corresponding double-stranded cDNA was prepared and inserted into the PstI site of plasmid pBR322. The resulting recombinant DNA was used to transform the RR1 strain of $\text{Escherichia}\text{coli}$. Clones resistant to tetracycline and sensitive to ampicillin were screened for the presence of metallothionein-specific restriction fragments in their plasmids. One plasmid, called M135, contains a cDNA insert covering the entire length of the mRNA for mouse liver metallothionein-I, except for the first 18 bases at the 5′ end.