Genetic polymorphism of PIF proteins in a Japanese population

Phenotype and gene frequencies of PIF (parotid isoelectric focusing variant) were determined in a series of individuals from eastern Japan. Among 422 unrelated individuals examined, 391 (92.66%) of PIF+ and 31 (7.34%) of PIF- phenotypes were observed; the gene frequencies were PIF+ = 0.729 and PIF- = 0.271.     

Purification of detergent-solubilized form and membrane-binding domain of rat γ-glutamyltransferase by immuno-affinity and hydrophobic chromatography

A new method to purify papain- or detergent-solubilized form (papain or detergent form) of γ-glutamyltransferase from rat hepatomas as well as from rat kidney by immuno-affinity column chromatography is presented. The antibody-column was prepared by coupling the anti-kidney papain form antibody, which had been purified by using a kidney papain form-Sepharose column, to CNBr-activated Sepharose 4B. The enzyme bound to the antibody-column was eluted with 0.04 M NH₄OH. By this method, detergent forms were purified 300 and 1600-fold in approx. 50% yields from rat kidney and rat ascites hepatoma AH 13, respectively, and the papain form was also purified 16 000-fold in a similar yield from primary hepatoma which has a very low activity of this enzyme. Preparations thus obtained apparently did not contain any peptide other than heavy and light subunit peptides of this enzyme on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The detergent form of kidney enzyme was preferentially adsorbed to a hydrophobic column of aminooctyl-Sepharose, while the papain form was not, suggesting that the detergent form might be adsorbed to the column through hydrophobic interaction of the membrane-binding domain. The domain peptide was also purified by the hydropholic column after release from the detergent form by papain treatment. The molecular weight of the peptide was estimated to be about 16 000 on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. On double immunodiffusion, the domain peptide reacted with anti-detergent form antibody but not with anti-papain form antibody. The domain-specific antibody was also purified from the anti-detergent form antibody.     

Entrapment of Lavandula vera cells with synthetic resin prepolymers and its application to pigment production

Summary Cultured cells of Lavandula vera were entrapped with photosensitive synthetic resin prepolymers (PVA-SbQ). PVA-SbQ-entrapped cells grew well inside gel matrices and synthesized de novo blue pigments in the presence of l-cysteine as an inducer. The entrapped cells were superior to calcium alginate-entrapped cells judging from cell growth and total pigment productivity. Release of the pigments, which were almost insoluble in water, from the gels was markedly enhanced by the increase in hydrophilicity of the cell-entrapping gels. The entrapped cells could be used repeatedly for the pigment production.Dedicated to Professor Dr. Georg Manecke on occasion of his 70th birthday     

Age-related changes in skin blood flow at four anatomic sites of the body in males studied by xenon-133

The normal skin blood flow in healthy subjects consisting of 28 males whose ages ranged from 20 to 72 years was measured by the xenon-133 clearance method at four different sites of the body to determine the presence of any age-related changes. The following results were obtained: Significant age-related changes were observed in the skin blood flow of the deltoid region, anterior chest, dorsum of the hand, and dorsum of the foot. Normal skin blood flow was demonstrated to be highly dependent on age and to significantly decrease with age. Average skin blood flow at these four regions of those 70 years of age decreased by 30 to 40 percent when compared to that of those 20 years of age. The skin blood flow at the deltoid region of healthy subjects was higher by 6.3 ml/100 gm per minute than that of patients in poor condition with cancer of the head and neck.     

Antifungal Activity and Molecular Orbital Energies of Aldehyde Compounds from Oils of Higher Plants

Mechanisms of antifungal actions of cinnamaldehyde, citral, perillaldehyde and citronellal were investigated. The growth inhibitions by the aldehydes were reduced or abolished in the presence of cysteine or glutathione in some cases, indicating that the inhibitions were mainly due to reactions of the aldehydes with SH groups involved in the fungal growth. In other cases, the SH compounds were ineffective on the inhibitory actions of the aldehydes. By calculating energies of molecular orbitals of the aldehydes, it was found that the antifungal activity was related to the energy of the lowest empty molecular orbital, i.e., the lower the energy, the higher is the antifungal activity. The energy values of the molecular orbitals indicate that the aldehydes except citronellal are good electron acceptors. It was further demonstrated, by studies of difference spectra, that cinnamaldehyde, citral and perillaldehyde are capable of forming charge transfer complexes with tryptophan, a good electron donor. These results strongly suggest that the antifungal actions of the aldehydes are possibly due to their abilities to form charge transfer complexes with electron donors in addition to their reactivity with SH groups.     

Isolation of Deoxyfructosazine and Its 6-Isomer from the Nondialyzable Melanoidin Hydrolyzate

The nondialyzable melanoidin prepared from glucose-ammonia system (kept in pH 5.3~6.0 during the reaction) was hydrolyzed. The hydrolyzate was fractionated by DEAE-cellulose column and Dowex 50 W column. Deoxyfructosazine and its 6-isomer were respectively isolated from main two fractions, and identified. Even on boiling the melanoidin in aqueous solution, these pyrazines as well as imidazoles and β-hydroxy pyridines in the melanoidin were liberated.

Furthermore, amounts of these heterocyclic compounds liberated from the nondialyzable melanoidin and the fractionated melanoidins (fractionated into five fractions on DEAE-cellulose column according to the method described previously) were examined.

The results obtained seem to suggest that these heterocyclic compounds are not present probably as a molecular skelton or an inclusion compound in the melanoidin, but as a small moiety of the melanoidin molecule with loose chemical bond.     

Polymorphic microsatellite loci for the Japanese paper wasp,Polistes chinensis antennalis (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

We isolated 13 microsatellite markers for the Japanese paper wasp Polistes chinensis antennalis. Null alleles were ruled out in the loci because we could detect polymerase chain reaction products for 578 haploid males. Our results indicate that these markers are excellent tools for the analysis of pedigrees within colonies for species with a complicated pedigree structure due to worker reproduction (male production by workers in queen‐right colonies).