Reduction of the C2 and C4 vinyl groups of Sn-protoporphyrin to form Sn-mesoporphyrin markedly enhances the ability of the metalloporphyrin to inhibit in vivo heme catabolism

Sn (tin)-mesoporphyrin (Sn-protoporphyrin in which the vinyl groups at C2 and C4 have been reduced to ethyl groups) when incubated with rat splenic microsomal heme oxygenase proved to be a potent competitive inhibitor of enzyme activity in vitro, with a Ki of 0.014 microM. Sn-mesoporphyrin (1 mumol/kg body wt) also inhibited hepatic, renal, and splenic heme oxygenase activity in vivo in adult animals for extended periods of time. Sn-mesoporphyrin (1 mumol/kg body wt) prevented the transient increase in serum bilirubin 24 h after birth in the rat neonate and substantially reduced the levels of serum bilirubin in ALA (delta-aminolevulinic acid) induced hyperbilirubinemia in the 7-day-old suckling neonate. Tissue heme oxygenase activity was decreased in both animal models of hyperbilirubinemia. Sn-mesoporphyrin administration led to a prolonged increase in the heme saturation of hepatic tryptophan pyrrolase indicating an increase in the "heme pool" related to tryptophan pyrrolase and the compound also suppressed chemically induced hepatic porphyria. The administration of Sn-mesoporphyrin to bile duct-cannulated rats was followed by a prompt and sustained decrease in bilirubin output in bile. In addition the excretion of heme in bile was enhanced in these animals. These studies indicate that Sn-mesoporphyrin, like Sn-protoporphyrin, decreases serum bilirubin by inhibiting the production of bilirubin in vivo and its mode of action is through a sustained competitive inhibition of heme oxygenase. However, when a direct comparison of Sn-protoporphyrin and Sn-mesoporphyrin was made, these studies clearly established that the reduction of the C2 and C4 vinyl groups of the porphyrin macrocycle to ethyl groups increases the effectiveness of the Sn-mesoporphyrin derivative 10-fold or more as compared with Sn-protoporphyrin in inhibiting heme catabolism in the animal model systems examined. Thus alterations in the side chain substituents as well as of the central metal atom can influence in a significant manner the potency of the resultant synthetic heme analog as an agent capable of inhibiting heme degradation in vivo.     

Evolutionary conservation of the chromosomal configuration and regulation of amylase genes among eight species of the Drosophila melanogaster species subgroup

Nuclear DNA was extracted from each of the eight species comprising the Drosophila melanogaster species subgroup. Southern hybridization of this DNA by using a molecular probe specific for the alpha-amylase coding region showed that the duplicated structure of the amylase locus, first found in D. melanogaster, is conserved among all species of the melanogaster subgroup. Evidence is also presented for the concerted evolution of the duplicated genes within each species. In addition, it is shown that the glucose repression of amylase gene expression, which has been extensively studied in D. melanogaster, is not confined to this species but occurs in all eight members of the species subgroup. Thus, both the duplicated gene structure and the glucose repression of Drosophila amylase gene activity are stable over extended periods of evolutionary time.      

Transformation of the basidiomycete, Schizophyllum commune

Summary Protoplasts of aSchizophyllum commune tryptophan auxotroph (trp1), deficient in indole-3-glycerol phosphate synthetase (IGPS), were transformed to trp⁺ with plasmid DNA containing the SchizophyllumTRP1 sequence. Efficiencies up to 30 transformants per microgram of plasmid DNA were obtained. Southern blots reveal that the transforming DNA is integrated in chromosomal DNA. The trp⁺ phenotype of transformants is stable in meiosis and mitosis. Transformants possess IGPS activity comparable to wild-type cells.     

Adenosine 3'',5''-cyclic monophosphate-dependent release of prolactin from GH3 pituitary tumour cells. A quantitative analysis.

The involvement of cyclic AMP in mediating regulatory peptide-controlled prolactin release from GH3 pituitary tumour cells was investigated. Cholera toxin and forskolin elicited concentration-dependent increases in both GH3 cell cyclic AMP content and prolactin release. The maximum rise in prolactin release with these agents was 2-fold over basal. 8-Bromo-cyclic AMP produced a similar stimulation of prolactin release. The phosphodiesterase inhibitor isobutylmethylxanthine also produced an increase in prolactin release and GH3 cell cyclic AMP content. However, the magnitude of the stimulated prolactin release exceeded that obtained with any other agent. Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (thyroliberin) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide produced a concentration-dependent rise in both cell cyclic AMP content and prolactin release. However, only vasoactive intestinal polypeptide elicited an increase in cell cyclic AMP content at concentrations relevant to the stimulation of prolactin release. Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide and thyrotropin-releasing hormone, when used in combination, were additive with respect to prolactin release. Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide and forskolin, at concentrations that were maximal upon prolactin release, were, when used in combination, synergistic upon GH3 cell cyclic AMP content but were not additive upon prolactin release. In conclusion the evidence supports a role for cyclic AMP in the mediation of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide- but not thyrotropin-releasing hormone-stimulated prolactin release from GH3 cells. A quantitative analysis indicates that a 50-100% rise in cyclic AMP suffices to stimulate cyclic AMP-dependent prolactin release fully.