Structural and functional differentiation of two clinally distributed glucosephosphate isomerase allelic isozymes from the teleost Fundulus heteroclitus

The teleost Fundulus heteroclitus (L.) possesses two loci, Gpi-A and Gpi-B, for the glycolytic enzyme, glucose-phosphate isomerase (GPI; D- glucose-6-phosphate ketol-isomerase; E.C. 5.3.1.9). The Gpi-B locus is polymorphic in Fundulus, with two common alleles, Gpi-Bb and Gpi-Bc, distributed in a clinal manner in populations along the east coast of North America. Since this clinal distribution is strongly correlated with a temperature gradient, we asked whether the GPI-B2 allozymes were functionally adapted to the thermal environment in which a given phenotype predominated. The two major GPI-B2 allozymes were purified to homogeneity and were characterized as to molecular weight, isoelectric pH, thermal denaturation, and kinetic parameters. Both GPI-Bb2 and GPI- Bc2 allozymes have molecular masses of 110 kD, and they have isoelectric pHs of 6.4 and 6.6, respectively. The GPI-Bb2 allozyme was more stable to thermal denaturation than was the GPI-Bc2 enzyme. Kinetic properties of the allelic isozymes were investigated both as a function of pH and as a function of temperature. At 25 degrees C, over the pH range considered, there were no significant differences between allozymes, either in Km for fructose-6-phosphate or in Ki for 6- phosphogluconate, but apparent Vmax values differed between pH 7.5 and pH 8.5. All steady-state kinetic parameters showed strong temperature dependence, but the allozymes differed only in the Ki for 6- phosphogluconate at temperatures greater than 30 degrees C. On the basis of the observed structural and functional differences alluded to above, the hypothesis that the major allelic isozymes of the Gpi-B locus were functionally equivalent was rejected. However, it is not yet known whether these structural and functional differences have any significance at higher levels of biological organization.      

Echocardiographic assessment and percutaneous closure of multiple atrial septal defects

Percutaneous coronary intervention can be associated with distal embolization of thrombotic material causing myocardial necrosis and infarction. We discuss the role of intravascular imaging to guide the use of a distal protection device by describing the outcome of a young woman presenting with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction. Coronary angiography demonstrated an isolated minor stenosis in the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery with slight haziness beyond the lesion. Intravascular ultrasound confirmed an extensive thrombus overlying a bulky atherosclerotic plaque. A distal filter wire was therefore successfully used to reduce the risk of distal embolization. The use of intravascular ultrasound in patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome may reveal large thrombi that are difficult to image using conventional angiographic techniques. Intravascular ultrasound can therefore be used as a tool to select lesions requiring distal protection.     

Pseudotumeur inflammatoire du cordon spermatique sur testicule ectopique: à propos d’un cas

The authors report the first case of pseudotumor of the spermatic cord in a patient presenting with an ectopic testis. On surgical exploration, a funicular mass overriding the testis was found, and histologic study of the specimen showed a pseudotumoral funiculitis. Through the analysis of this case and a review of the literature, we shall discuss the diagnostic and therapeutic features of rare paratesticular tumors.     

Patterns of inflammation and the use of reversibility testing in smokers with airway complaints

Background

Although both smoking and respiratory complaints are very common, tools to improve diagnostic accuracy are scarce in primary care. This study aimed to reveal what inflammatory patterns prevail in clinically established diagnosis groups, and what factors are associated with eosinophilia.

Method

Induced sputum and blood plasma of 59 primary care patients with COPD (n = 17), asthma (n = 11), chronic bronchitis (CB, n = 14) and smokers with no respiratory complaints ('healthy smokers', n = 17) were collected, as well as lung function, smoking history and clinical work-up. Patterns of inflammatory markers per clinical diagnosis and factors associated with eosinophilia were analyzed by multiple regression analyses, the differences expressed in odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals.

Results

Multivariately, COPD was significantly associated with raised plasma-LBP (OR 1.2 [1.04–1.37]) and sTNF-R55 in sputum (OR 1.01 [1.001–1.01]), while HS expressed significantly lowered plasma-LBP (OR 0.8 [0.72–0.95]). Asthma was characterized by higher sputum eosinophilic counts (OR 1.3 [1.05–1.54]), while CB showed a significantly higher proportion of sputum lymphocytic counts (OR 1.5 [1.12–1.9]). Sputum eosinophilia was significantly associated with reversibility after adjusting for smoking, lung function, age, gender and allergy.

Conclusion

Patterns of inflammatory markers in a panel of blood plasma and sputum cells and mediators were discernable in clinical diagnosis groups of respiratory disease. COPD and so-called healthy smokers showed consistent opposite associations with plasma LBP, while chronic bronchitics showed relatively predominant lymphocytic inflammation compared to other diagnosis groups. Only sputum eosinophilia remained significantly associated with reversibility across the spectrum of respiratory disease in smokers with airway complaints.     

新型非病毒三元复合DNA载体的研究

基因治疗是未来临床医学最具潜力的治疗方式,目前阻碍临床基因治疗发展的主要因素是缺乏安全和高效的基因载体,因此研究理想的非病毒转基因载体具有重要的意义.构建了由质粒DNA(D)-抗DNA抗体(A)-阳离子脂质体(C)组成的三元复合纳米基因载体(DAC),研究表明,三组分在磷酸缓冲液中可通过分子组装形成复合纳米胶束,DAC在细胞培养中表现出显著高效的基因表达,DAC在血管平滑肌细胞中的基因转染效率比不含抗DNA抗体的二元组合(DC)高4倍,比不含阳离子脂质体的二元组合(DA)约高11倍.激光共聚焦荧光显微观察证明,DAC细胞摄取量和DNA进入细胞核的量均明显高于对照组,而DC二元组合(不含抗DNA抗体)的DNA很少进入细胞核,细胞在DAC存在下生长正常.未发现细胞毒性.研究结果提示,DAC的作用机理主要是三元复合胶束中DNA的装载量比二元载体大得多,抗DNA抗体与阳离子脂质体的协同作用明显有利于DNA被细胞摄取和胞吞,从而提高了基因的转染和表达.     

Bird maneuvering flight: blurred bodies, clear heads

While useful in describing the efficiency of maneuvering flight,steady-state (i.e., fixed wing) models of maneuvering performancecannot provide insight to the efficacy of maneuvering, particularlyduring low-speed flapping flight. Contrasted with airplane-analogousgliding/high speed maneuvering, the aerodynamic and biomechanicalmechanisms employed by birds at low flight speeds are violent,with rapidly alternating forces routinely being developed. Thesaltatory nature of this type of flight results in extreme linearand angular displacements of the bird's body; however, birdsisolate their heads from these accelerations with cervical reflexes.Experiments with pigeons suggest this ability to isolate thevisual and vestibular systems is critical to controlled flappingflight: birds wearing collars that prohibited the neck fromisolating the head from the angular accelerations of inducedrolls frequently exhibited (50% of flights) a loss of vestibularand/or visual horizon and were unable to maintain controlledflight.     

Sequence variations in small-subunit ribosomal RNAs of Hartmannella vermiformis and their phylogenetic implications

Evidence of associations between free-living amoebas and human disease has been increasing in recent years. Knowledge about phylogenetic relationships that may be important for the understanding of pathogenicity in the genera involved is very limited at present. Consequently, we have begun to study these relationships and report here on the phylogeny of Hartmannella vermiformis, a free-living amoeba that can harbor the etiologic agent of Legionnaires' disease. Our analysis is based on studies of small-subunit ribosomal RNA genes (srDNA). Nucleotide sequences were determined for nuclear srDNA from three strains of H. vermiformis isolated from the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States. These sequences then were compared with a sequence previously obtained for a North American isolate by J. H. Gunderson and M. L. Sogin. The four genes are 1,840 bp long, with an average GC content of 49.6%. Sequence differences among the strains range are 0.38%-0.76%. Variation occurs at 19 positions and includes 2 single-base indels plus 14 monotypic and 3 ditypic single-base substitutions. Variation is limited to eight helix/loop structures according to a current model for srRNA secondary structure. Parsimony, distance, and bootstrap analyses used to examine phylogenetic relationships between the srDNA sequences of H. vermiformis and other eukaryotes indicated that Hartmannella sequences were most closely related to those of Acanthamoeba and the alga Cryptomonas. All ditypic sites were consistent with a separation between European and North American strains of Hartmannella, but results of other tests of this relationship were statistically inconclusive.      

Regulation of protein synthesis during early limitation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Arsenate, a competitive inhibitor with phosphate in phosphorylation reactions, has been used to lower adenine and guanine nucleotide levels in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to study nucleotide effects on protein synthesis. By measuring polysome levels, we have shown that initiation of protein synthesis is much more sensitive than elongation or termination to inhibition when the ATP/ADP, GTP/GDP ratios are low. When the arsenate-phosphate molar ratio was 0.27, protein synthesis was inhibited by about 85% and the kinetics of polysome decay was similar to that observed with the initiation inhibitor, verrucarin-76, or with the protein synthesis initiation mutant, ts187, at the restrictive temperature. With this level of arsenate, the adenylate energy charge dropped from 0.9 to 0.7 and the ATP/ADP and GTP/GDP ratios dropped from 6 to 2. The observed correlations between nucleotide ratio changes and inhibition of protein synthesis suggest that the former may be a control signal for the latter. The significance of these in vivo correlations will have to be tested with an in vitro protein synthesizing system. Higher arsenate levels resulted in even lower ATP/ADP, GTP/GDP ratios and in a slower decay of polysomes, implying that, eventually, elongation (in addition to initiation) was being inhibited.     

Methylmercury: some effects on embryogenesis in the Japanese Medaka, Oryzias latipes

Japanese Medaka (Oryzias latipes) eggs were treated with 40, 60, and 80 parts per billion (ppb) methylmercuric chloride (MMC) for a period of 10 to 25 days in order to observe gross teratogenic and lethal effects caused by methylmercury during embryogenesis. Over the period tested, 40 ppb-treated embryos were less affected than other treated animals. Embryos treated with 60 ppb MMC showed greater effects in that there was a higher death rate and those which survived ranged considerably in size, degree of gross teratogenic defects, and behavior if development was normal enough for hatching to occur. Most did not hatch during the 25-day test period. Embryos treated with 80 ppb MMC were very abnormal in development, being stunted, poorly pigmented, and they showed various eye defects. None hatched in 25 days. Many did not incorporate the heart into the body. Methylmercuric chloride in trace amounts caused various defects and presents a potential hazard to development of embryos of aquatic vertebrates.