Isolation and characterization of a large,neurite-associated glycoconjugate from neuroblastoma cells

A high molecular weight glycoconjugate has been isolated from neurite-producing neuronal tumor cells in culture and has been designated as I(0) based on its elution characteristics in gel filtration chromatography. This molecule cannot be found in a variety of nonneuronal cells. I(0) is found in the substratum-attached material or cell fraction of neurite-producing neuroblastoma cells, depending upon culture conditions. It is found in the substratum-bound fraction of B104 rat neuroblastoma cells during serum starvation and in the EGTA-detached cell fraction of B104 cells grown in chemically defined N2 medium. It occurs only in the cell fraction of the human neuroblastoma line Platt. Examination of behavioral variants of the B104 rat line further strengthens the association of I(0) with neurite production; the constitutive neurite-producing E(R)B9 variant contains I(0) while the non-neurite-producing E(R)A11 variant does not. I(0) is large, eluting in the void volume of sepharose-CL2B columns. Radioiodination of intact cells with lactoperoxidase shows I(0) to be a cell surface component. Metabolic radiolabeling studies show that it contains a high proportion of polysaccharide to protein, does not contain mannose, and is unsulfated. Alkaline borohydride reduction release two size classes of large polysaccharide chain. The alkaline reduction results, along with the mannose incorporation studies, show the presence of O-glycosidic linkages and few, if any, N-linkages. Resistance to nitrous acid deamination, insensitivity to glycosaminoglycan lyases, and the absence of sulfation, indicate that I(0) does not contain the glycosaminoglycans hyaluronic acid, chondroitin-, dermatan-, or heparin- sulfates. Affinity column chromatography reveals high binding affinity of I(0) to polyornithine and no binding to gelatin (collagen) or the glycosaminoglycans hyaluronate and heparin. These studies describe a unique high molecular weight glycoconjugate on the surface of neurite-producing neuroblastoma cell lines from two species.     

Immobilization of enzymes with polyaziridines.

A novel method of enzyme immobilization using a low molecular weight prepolymer of tri-functional aziridines which can immobilize enzymes both by covalent attachment and entrapment within a gel matrix is described. The enzymes are immobilized on a solid support and exhibit an excellent retention of enzymatic activity. The immobilization procedure is essentially a single step process which can be easily performed at room temperature or 4 degrees C in either aqueous solution or in an inert organic solvent. The polyaziridines used in the immobilization are nontoxic, available in bulk at low cost and completely miscible with water and many organic solvents, thus providing one of the most satisfactory methods of immobilization available.     

Relative apparent synapomorphy analysis (RASA). I: The statistical measurement of phylogenetic signal

We have developed a new approach to the measurement of phylogenetic signal in character state matrices called relative apparent synapomorphy analysis (RASA). RASA provides a deterministic, statistical measure of natural cladistic hierarchy (phylogenetic signal) in character state matrices. The method works by determining whether a measure of the rate of increase of cladistic similarity among pairs of taxa as a function of phenetic similarity is greater than a null equiprobable rate of increase. Our investigation of the utility and limitations of RASA using simulated and bacteriophage T7 data sets indicates that the method has numerous advantages over existing measures of signal. A first advantage is computational efficiency. A second advantage is that RASA employs known methods of statistical inference, providing measurable sensitivity and power. The performance of RASA is examined under various conditions of branching evolution as the number of characters, character states per character, and mutations per branch length are varied. RASA appears to provide an unbiased and reliable measure of phylogenetic signal, and the general approach promises to be useful in the development of new techniques that should increase the rigor and reliability of phylogenetic estimates.      

Molecular evolution of voltage-sensitive ion channel genes: on the origins of electrical excitability

We have analyzed nucleic acid and amino acid sequence alignments of a variety of voltage-sensitive ion channels, using several methods for phylogenetic tree reconstruction. Ancient duplications within this family gave rise to three distantly related groups, one consisting of the Na+ and Ca++ channels, another the K+ channels, and a third including the cyclic nucleotide-binding channels. A series of gene duplications produced at least seven mammalian homologues of the Drosophila Shaker K+ channel; clones of only three of these genes are available from all three mammalian species examined (mouse, rat, and human), pointing to specific genes that have yet to be recovered in one or another of these species. The Shaw-related K+ channels and the Na+ channel family have also undergone considerable expansion in mammals, relative to flies. These expansions presumably reflect the needs of the high degree of physiological and neuronal complexity of mammals. Analysis of the separate domains of the four-domain channels (Ca++ and Na+) supports their having evolved by two sequential gene duplications and implies the historical existence of a functional two-domain channel.      

mtDNA diversity in rhesus monkeys reveals overestimates of divergence time and paraphyly with neighboring species

Reconstructions of the human-African great ape phylogeny by using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have been subject to considerable debate. One confounding factor may be the lack of data on intraspecific variation. To test this hypothesis, we examined the effect of intraspecific mtDNA diversity on the phylogenetic reconstruction of another Plio- Pleistocene radiation of higher primates, the fascicularis group of macaque (Macaca) monkey species. Fifteen endonucleases were used to identify 10 haplotypes of 40-47 restriction sites in M. mulatta, which were compared with similar data for the other members of this species group. Interpopulational, intraspecific mtDNA diversity was large (0.5%- 4.5%), and estimates of divergence time and branching order incorporating this variation were substantially different from those based on single representatives of each species. We conclude that intraspecific mtDNA diversity is substantial in at least some primate species. Consequently, without prior information on the extent of genetic diversity within a particular species, intraspecific variation must be assessed and accounted for when reconstructing primate phylogenies. Further, we question the reliability of hominoid mtDNA phylogenies, based as they are on one or a few representatives of each species, in an already depauperate superfamily of primates.      

In vivo responses of paired giant mechanoreceptor neurons in Aplysia abdominal ganglion

Two neurons with cell bodies symmetrically located in the abdominal ganglion and giant axons in the left (L1) and right (R1) pleurovisceral connectives of Aplysia californica were examined in vivo and in vitro. Direct stimulation of R1 and L1 in the intact animal does not elicit any observable behavior, suggesting that they are neither motoneurons nor command neurons. These cells respond in vivo to sudden onset mechanical stimulation of widespread regions of the body. R1 and L1 spikes are initiated in at least three different loci: (1) the peripheral axon in the foot, (2) the neuropil of the pleural and/or pedal ganglion, and (3) the neuropil of the abdominal ganglion. Furthermore, R1 and L1 probably have two different mechanisms for spike initiation: (1) sensory (foot), and (2) synaptic (abominal and/or head ganglia). The different loci for spike initiation account for the bidirectional conduction of R1 and L1 spikes. As sensory (mechanoreceptor) neurons, R1 and L1 have peripheral axons in the ipsilateral posterior pedal nerve, show low threshold responses to stimulation of the ipsilateral posterior foot, they are rapidly adapting their responses do not decrease with repetion, and they are not blocked by high Mg⁺⁺/low Ca⁺⁺ solutions. As synaptically-driven neurons, R1 and L1 have widespread bilateral responsiveness, their responses decrease with repetition and their inputs are blocked with high Mg⁺⁺/low Ca⁺⁺ solutions. These neurons integrate sensory and synaptic inputs and conduct bidirectionally, however, their output connections must be specified before their behavioral function can be understood.     

A Model Allowing Continuous Variation in Electrophoretic Mobility of Neutral Alleles

The infinite-sites model with no recombination is extended to include mutations that affect electrophoretic mobility. The model allows the effect of a single-site mutation to have a continuous effect on mobility. Formulae are obtained for the variance of electrophoretic mobility of alleles after an arbitrary lenght of time. A special case of the general model is the case of stepwise production of neutral alleles with an arbitrary number of steps.     

Major oligomeric structural proteins of the HeLa nucleus

The three predominant polypeptides of the insoluble proteinaceous fraction from the HeLa cell nucleus polymerize in vitro upon oxidation of intrinsic sulfhydryl groups. The ease and specificity of this reaction indicate that these polypeptides exist as ordered oligomers in vivo. The comparable insoluble fraction from the rat liver nucleus also contains three predominant polypeptides of the same molecular weights, 65,000 71,000, and 75,000. The insoluble protein of the avian erythrocyte nuclear envelope consists principally of the 71,000- and the 75,000-dalton polypeptides. Indeed, in the avian erythrocyte nucleus these are the predominant polypeptides of the entire nucleus (Shelton, K., Cobbs, C., Povlishock, J. and Burkat, R., 1976, Arch. Biochem. Biophys.174, 177). Further, these avian polypeptides each form homogeneous covalently linked oligomers upon sulfhydryl oxidation (Cochran, D., Cobbs, C. and Shelton, K., 1977, J. Cell Biol.75, 151a). The insolubility, oligomeric disposition, and relative prominence of these polypeptides in a wide variety of cells indicate a fundamental structural role in the nucleus. Morphological features which may reflect this structural or skeletal role could be the nuclear envelope, the fibrous lamina, or perhaps an intrachromatinic matrix. The metabolism of the oligomeric polypeptides has been investigated in HeLa cells. Turnover of the HeLa insoluble nuclear protein is similar to that of the histones which are known to be stable proteins. The insoluble protein, including the oligomeric polypeptides, is synthesized in G1, S, and G2 phases of the cell cycle. This metabolic behavior indicates that the oligomeric polypeptides are reutilized in successive cell cycles and that synthesis accompanies nuclear and cellular expansion rather than deoxyribonucleohistone synthesis. This suggests that neither degradation nor selective synthesis of oligomeric polypeptides at a particular phase of the cell cycle are responsible for the breakdown and reformation of the interphase cell morphological features that occur during mitosis.     

The Active and the Inactive Form of the hAT1 Receptor Have an Identical Ligand-Binding Environment: An MPA Study on a Constitutively Active Angiotensin II Receptor Mutant

Several models of activation mechanisms were proposed for G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), yet no direct methods exist for their elucidation. The availability of constitutively active mutants has given an opportunity to study active receptor conformations within acceptable limits using models such as the angiotensin II type 1 (AT₁)¹ receptor mutant N111G-hAT₁ which displays an important constitutive activity. Recently, by using methionine proximity assay, we showed for the hAT₁ receptor that TMD III, VI, and VII form the ligand-binding pocket of the C-terminal amino acid of an antagonistic AngII analogue. In the present contribution, we investigated whether the same residues would also constitute the ligand-binding contacts in constitutively activated mutant (CAM) receptors. For this purpose, the same Met mutagenesis strategy was carried out on the N111G double mutants. Analysis of 43 receptors mutants in the N111G-hAT₁ series, photolabeled and CNBr digested, showed that there were only subtle structural changes between the wt-receptor and its constitutively active form.