Methylated poly(L-lysine): conformational effects and interactions with polynucleotides

Methylated lysine, arginine and histidine residues are found in a number of proteins (for example, histones, non-histone chromosomal proteins, ribosomal proteins, calmodulin, cytochrome C, etc.). We are studying the effects of methylation on the conformations of poly(lysine) and of the effects of methylation of poly(lysine) and poly(arginine) on interactions with polynucleotides. The conformational properties of epsilon-amino-methylated poly(lysine) differ from those of unmodified poly(lysine). Methylation increases resistance to thermally-induced and NaCl-induced changes in the CD spectrum. Guanidinium chloride increases (proportional to the degree of methylation) the extent of approach to the conformation in dispute as to its being a random coil or an extended helix. Methylation enhances aggregation in the helix-inducing solvent 0.5 M Ca(ClO4)2. With increasing methylation of poly(lysine), the conformation in dodecyl sulfate changes from beta, to 50% alpha, to random coil at the maximum methylation. Increasing methylation of poly(lysine) weakens the interaction with polynucleotides in respect to dissociation by salt, linearly with methyl content. Complexes of (dAdT)n.(dAdT)n with the polypeptides are increasingly stabilized to heat denaturation by progressive methylation. However, with a series of synthetic double-stranded RNA's and DNA's a more complex situation exists, Tm increasing or decreasing, depending on the base composition, sequence and type of sugar. Methylation of poly(lysine) and poly(arginine) can have opposite effects on Tm based on results with complexes with (dI)n.(dC)n. Methylated poly(lysine) affects the CD spectrum of polynucleotides, in a manner dependent on base composition and sequence. In some cases large positive or negative psi-spectra are induced, which, in the case of (dGdC)n.(dGdC)n, can be positive or negative depending on the degree of methylation of the polypeptide and the salt concentration. It is suggested that the biological effects of methylation proteins may be evoke by salt changes in the cell cycle, and that methylation can affect local interactions with nucleic acids and larger scale structure, and interactions with lipids.     

Structure-activity relationship of swainsonine. Inhibition of human alpha-mannosidases by swainsonine analogues.

The inhibitory properties of a series of synthetic epimers and analogues of swainsonine towards the multiple forms of human alpha-mannosidases were studied in vitro and in cells in culture. Of the five epimers tested, only the 8a-epimer and 8,8a-diepimer of swainsonine were specific and competitive inhibitors (Ki values of 7.5 x 10(-5) and 2 x 10(-6) M respectively) of lysosomal alpha-mannosidases in vitro and induced storage of mannose-rich oligosaccharides in human fibroblasts in culture. The structures of these storage products indicated that processing alpha-mannosidases had also been inhibited. This was consistent with the observed inhibition in vitro of these enzymes by these compounds. In contrast, the 8-epimer, 1,8-diepimer and 2,8a-diepimer of swainsonine had no appreciable effect on any alpha-mannosidases. The corresponding open-chain analogues of swainsonine, namely 1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino-D-mannitol, of the 8a-epimer, namely 1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino-D-talitol, and of the 8,8a-diepimer, namely 1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino-L-allitol, were weaker competitive inhibitors of lysosomal alpha-mannosidase, with Ki values of 1.3 x 10(-5), 1.2 x 10(-4) and 1.2 x 10(-4) M respectively. These analogues also proved less effective at inducing oligosaccharide accumulation and in disturbing glycoprotein processing. These compounds offer the opportunity to determine which alterations in the chirality of the swainsonine molecule affect its inhibitory specificity. A comparison of their biological activities has identified reagents that will be useful for studying steps in the biosynthesis and catabolism of glycoproteins and that may be of potential value in chemotherapy.     

Mono and two-dimensional 500-MHz characterization of synthetic bombesin and related peptides in DMSO and DMSO-water

The proton nmr characterization of bombesin (BBS) and of two peptide fragments corresponding to the (1-6) and (6-14) sequences has been carried out at 500 MHz in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO-d6) using two-dimensional (2D) homo and 1H-13C heterocorrelated techniques. All resonances in the nmr spectra have been assigned and several coupling constants have been measured. The backbone J alpha CH-NH coupling constants are quite similar and around 7.8-8.2 Hz, pointing to an unfolded structure in DMSO-d6. The possibility of secondary structures in highly viscous mixtures of DMSO-d6-water was investigated. The existence of sequential nuclear Overhauser enhancement (NOE) effects in the C-terminal nonapeptide section may indicate a preferential site for secondary structuring.     

DR antigen expression on ovarian carcinoma cells does not correlate with their capacity to elicit an autologous proliferative response

Summary Expression of HLA-DR antigens by purified preparations of human ovarian carcinoma cells freshly isolated from surgical specimens was examined in parallel with the capacity of tumor cells to elicit a blastogenic response from autologous lymphocytes in mixed lymphocyte-tumor culture (MLTC) assay. Of 21 tumor preparations, 11 (52%) reacted with monoclonal antibodies 279 and/or 949 specific for a monomorphic determinant of HLA-DR antigens, with heterogeneous positivity, ranging between 30% and 95%. In this series of patients positive MLTC occurred in 8/21 individual experiments. The HLA-DR expression was proportionally similar in tumors giving positive MLTC (4/8=50%) and negative MLTC (7/13=53%). The lack of correlation between DR expression on tumor cells and stimulatory activity in autologous MLTC and the fact that DR-negative tumors could induce lymphocyte stimulation, support the hypothesis that blastogenesis occurs upon recognition of tumor-associated antigens, different from DR molecules, possibly tumor-specific antigens.     

Gas holdup and overall volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient in airlift contactors

The two major types of airlift contactors, concentric-tube and external-loop, were investigated for their gas holdup (riser and downcomer) and overall mass transfer characteristics. Results obtained in batch charges of tap water and 0.15 kmol/m(3) NaCl solution are reported for external-loop airlift contactors having downcomer-to-riser cross-sectional area ratios, A(d)/A(r), ranging from 0.11 相似文献   

Replication of repeated DNA in human cells

The replication pattern of the repeated sequence families of human DNA has been studied by means of DNA reassociation curves. Early- and late-replicating DNA fractions were obtained from synchronized cultures of KB cells by labeling cells with bromodeoxyuridine (BUdR) early or late in the DNA synthesis period and isolating the BUdR-containing DNA by CsCl density-gradient centrifugation. Highly repeated and moderately repeated sequence classes labeled with ${}^{14}\text{C-deoxycytidine}$ either early or late in the DNA synthesis period were also prepared. The effect of the isolated early- or late-replicating BUdR-DNA on the rate of reassociation of the ${}^{14}\text{C-labeled}$ repeated sequences was then tested. Increasing concentrations of early- or late-replicating BUdR-DNA were added to a constant amount of either ${}^{14}\text{C-labeled}$ early- or late-replicating repeated sequences, and the fraction of label in double-stranded DNA was determined. Analysis of the DNA reassociation curves so obtained indicates that some repeated sequence families are replicated throughout the DNA synthesis period whereas others are replicated primarily in the second half. This is true for both the highly-repeated and moderately-repeated sequence classes.     

Differential associative behaviour of mitotic and meiotic acrocentric chromosomes

Summary A comparative study of the association of mitotic acrocentric chromosomes and acrocentric bivalents at the pachytene stage shows that at least two factors can act in the associative behaviour of these chromosomes: (1) Nor activity and (2) the presence of satellite DNA in the short arms of these chromosomes. These factors do not act with the same intensity in the two cell lines studied. In lymphocytes, Nor activity prevails, whereas satellite DNA plays the main role in the association of acrocentric chromosomes in germ cells at the pachytene stage.     

Mapping the information landscape of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration Strategy

The strategy of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration identifies three pathways for action for overcoming six global barriers thought to hamper upscaling. We evaluated 6,023 peer-reviewed and gray literature papers published over the last two decades to map the information landscape underlying the barriers and associated pathways for action across world regions, terrestrial ecosystem types, restorative interventions and their outcomes. Overall, the literature addressed more the financial and legislative barriers than the technical and research-related ones, supporting the view that social, economic and political factors hamper scaling up ecosystem restoration. Latin America, Africa, and North America were the most prominent regions in the literature, yet differed in the number of publications addressing each barrier. An overwhelming number of publications focused on forests (78%), while grasslands (6%), drylands (3%), and mangroves (2%) received less attention. Across the three pathways for action, the action lines on (1) promoting long-term ecosystem restoration actions and monitoring and (2) education on restoration were the most underrepresented in the literature. In general, restorative interventions assessed rendered positive outcomes except those of a political, legislative or financial nature which reported negative or inconclusive outcomes. Our indicative assessment reveals critical information gaps on barriers, pathways, and types of restorative interventions across world regions, particularly related to specific social issues such as education for ecosystem restoration. Finally, we call for refining “strength of evidence” assessment frameworks that can systematically appraise, synthesize and integrate information on traditional and practitioner knowledge as two essential components for improving decision-making in ecosystem restoration.