Free and polymerized tubulin in cultured bone cells and Chinese hamster ovary cells: the influence of cold and hormones

A low pH method of liposome-membrane fusion (Schneider et al., 1980, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 77:442) was used to enrich the mitochondrial inner membrane lipid bilayer 30-700% with exogenous phospholipid and cholesterol. By varying the phospholipid-to- cholesterol ratio of the liposomes it was possible to incorporate specific amounts of cholesterol (up to 44 mol %) into the inner membrane bilayer in a controlled fashion. The membrane surface area increased proportionally to the increase in total membrane bilayer lipid. Inner membrane enriched with phospholipid only, or with phospholipid plus cholesterol up to 20 mol %, showed randomly distributed intramembrane particles (integral proteins) in the membrane plane, and the average distance between intramembrane particles increased proportionally to the amount of newly incorporated lipid. Membranes containing between 20 and 27 mol % cholesterol exhibited small clusters of intramembrane particles while cholesterol contents above 27 mol % resulted in larger aggregations of intramembrane particles. In phospholipid-enriched membranes with randomly dispersed intramembrane particles, electron transfer activities from NADH- and succinate-dehydrogenase to cytochrome c decreased proportionally to the increase in distance between the particles. In contrast, these electron- transfer activities increased with decreasing distances between intramembrane particles brought about by cholesterol incorporation. These results indicate that (a) catalytically interacting redox components in the mitochondrial inner membrane such as the dehydrogenase complexes, ubiquinone, and heme proteins are independent, laterally diffusible components; (b) the average distance between these redox components is effected by the available surface area of the membrane lipid bilayer; and (c) the distance over which redox components diffuse before collision and electron transfer mediates the rate of such transfer.     

The primary structure of the beta-subunit of the cell surface adhesion glycoproteins LFA-1, CR3 and p150,95 and its relationship to the fibronectin receptor.

The lymphocyte-function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1), the complement receptor type 3 (CR3) and the antigen p150,95 are cell-surface glycoproteins. They are heterodimeric complexes, each containing a unique alpha-subunit noncovalently associated with a common beta-subunit. We have purified the beta-subunit from human spleen and obtained limited peptide sequences. What appears to be the complete primary structure for the fully processed beta-subunit was obtained by cDNA sequencing of clones from a phorbol ester (PMA) stimulated U937 cDNA library. There are five possible glycosylation sites and a transmembrane segment. The sequence contains a high level of cysteine (7.6%), with 24 of the 57 cysteine residues being found in three repeating units each with eight residues. The entire primary structure has 47% identity to a subunit of a fibronectin binding protein from chicken fibroblasts. It seems that LFA-1, CR3 and p150,95 antigens may belong to an extended family of cell surface molecules including the fibronectin binding protein.     

Impaired proteolytic processing of lysosomal N-acetyl-beta-hexosaminidase in cultured fibroblasts from patients with infantile generalized N-acetylneuraminic acid storage disease

Cultured skin fibroblasts from patients suffering with infantile generalized N-acetylneuraminic acid (NeuAc) storage disease accumulate free NeuAc in a population of lysosomes less dense than those observed in normal fibroblasts (1.035 vs. greater than 1.07 mean density), as assessed by the distribution of lysosomal enzyme activities and NeuAc on Percoll gradients after subcellular fractionation. In the present study, normal and affected fibroblasts were labeled with [35S]methionine, and cell homogenates or subcellular fractions from Percoll gradients were immunoprecipitated with polyclonal antibodies to lysosomal N-acetyl-beta-hexosaminidase (Hex); immunoprecipitated polypeptides were analyzed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The synthesis and initial processing of Hex polypeptides were comparable in normal and affected fibroblasts, but mature polypeptides were quantitatively localized in "buoyant" lysosomes of affected cells, along with Hex activity; moreover, mature alpha-chain of Hex was approximately 2 kDa larger than that observed in normal cells. The molecular weight difference was apparently due to impaired proteolytic processing of alpha-chain in affected fibroblasts, since treatment of immunoprecipitated alpha-chain from normal and affected cells with neuraminidase and endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H failed to resolve the molecular weight difference. The impaired processing was observed to be persistent (after a chase of up to 200 h), but had no apparent effect on the turnover or activity of Hex in affected fibroblasts. The observed proteolytic processing defect may be primary or secondary in infantile NeuAc storage disease.     

Mutations in the matrix protein of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 inhibit surface expression and virion incorporation of viral envelope glycoproteins in CD4+ T lymphocytes.

Highly conserved amino acids in the second helix structure of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) MA protein were identified to be critical for the incorporation of viral Env proteins into HIV-1 virions from transfected COS-7 cells. The effects of these MA mutations on viral replication in the HIV-1 natural target cells, CD4+ T lymphocytes, were evaluated by using a newly developed system. In CD4+ T lymphocytes, mutations in the MA domain of HIV-1 Gag also inhibited the incorporation of viral Env proteins into mature HIV-1 virions. Furthermore, mutations in the MA domain of HIV-1 Gag reduced surface expression of viral Env proteins in CD4+ T lymphocytes. The synthesis of gp160 and cleavage of gp160 to gp120 were not significantly affected by MA mutations. On the other hand, the stability of gp120 in MA mutant-infected cells was significantly reduced compared to that in the parental wild-type virus-infected cells. These results suggest that functional interaction between HIV-1 Gag and Env proteins is not only critical for efficient incorporation of Env proteins into mature virions but also important for proper intracellular transport and stable surface expression of viral Env proteins in infected CD4+ T lymphocytes. A single amino acid substitution in MA abolished virus infectivity in dividing CD4+ T lymphocytes without significantly affecting virus assembly, virus release, or incorporation of Gag-Pol and Env proteins, suggesting that in addition to its functional role in virus assembly, the MA protein of HIV-1 also plays an important role in other steps of virus replication.     

Movements and associations of ribosomal subunits in a secretory cell during growth inhibition by starvation

In Chironomus tentans salivary gland cells, the cytoplasm can be dissected into concentric zones situated at increasing distances from the nuclear envelope. After RNA labeling, the newly made ribosomal subunits are found in the cytoplasm mainly in the neighborhood of the nucleus with a gradient of increasing abundance towards the periphery of the cell. The gradient for the small subunit lasts for a few hours and disappears entirely after treatment with puromycin. The large subunit also forms a gradient but one which is only partially abolished by puromycin. The residual gradient which which is resistant to the addition of the drug is probably due to the binding of some large ribosomal units to the membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum (J.-E. Edstrom and u. Lonn. 1976. J. Cell Biol. 70:562-572, and U. Lonn and J.-E. Edstrom. 1976. J. Cell. Biol. 70:573-580). If growth is inhibited by starvation, only the puromycin-sensitive type gradient is observed for the large subunit, suggesting that the attachment of these newly made subunits to the endoplasmic reticulum membranes will not occur. If, on the other hand, the drug-resistant gradient is allowed to form in feeding animals, it is conserved during a subsequent starvation for longer periods than in control feeding animals. This observation provides a further support for an effect of starvation on the normal turnover of the large subunits associated with the endoplasmic reticulum. These results also indicate a considerable structural stability in the cytoplasm of these cells worth little or no gross redistribution of cytoplasmic structures over a period of at least 6 days.     

Failure to identify alveolar echinococcosis in trappers from South Dakota in spite of high prevalence of Echinococcus multilocularis in wild canids

Echinococcus multilocularis causes a rare but potentially lethal zoonotic disease in humans. This tapeworm has been known to be endemic in foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and coyotes (Canis latrans) within the northern United States since the 1960s. One purpose of this study was to provide recent data on the prevalence of E. multilocularis in foxes and coyotes from eastern South Dakota. In a survey conducted from 1987 to 1991 and involving 137 foxes and 9 coyotes from this area, 74.5% of the foxes and 4 of the coyotes were infected. To assess the possible prevalence of alveolar echinococcosis in a group at presumptive high risk, we also conducted a serological survey of members of the South Dakota Trappers Association in 1990 and 1991. Serum samples from 115 trappers were evaluated for the presence of E. multilocularis antibodies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay tests involving a purified antigen called Em2, a crude E. multilocularis antigen, and a recombinant E. multilocularis antigen called II/3-10. None of the trappers showed antibody evidence for the presence of E. multilocularis. Roughly half of the surveyed individuals had trapped more than 50 foxes during their life, and almost one-fourth had trapped more than 1,000 foxes.     

High-affinity anti-ganglioside IgG antibodies raised in complex ganglioside knockout mice: reexamination of GD1a immunolocalization

Gangliosides, sialic acid-bearing glycosphingolipids, are highly enriched in the vertebrate nervous system. Anti-ganglioside antibodies are associated with various human neuropathies, although the pathogenicity of these antibodies remains unproven. Testing the pathogenic role of anti-ganglioside antibodies will be facilitated by developing high-affinity IgG-class complement-fixing monoclonal anti-bodies against major brain gangliosides, a goal that has been difficult to achieve. In this study, mice lacking complex gangliosides were used as immune-naive hosts to raise anti-ganglioside antibodies. Wild-type mice and knockout mice with a disrupted gene for GM2/GD2 synthase (UDP-N-acetyl-D-galactosamine : GM3/GD3 N-acetyl-D-glactosaminyltransferase) were immunized with GD1a conjugated to keyhole limpet hemocyanin. The knockout mice produced a vigorous anti-GD1a IgG response, whereas wildtype littermates failed to do so. Fusion of spleen cells from an immunized knockout mouse with myeloma cells yielded numerous IgG anti-GD1a antibody-producing colonies. Ganglioside binding studies revealed two specificity classes; one colony representing each class was cloned and characterized. High-affinity monoclonal antibody was produced by each hybridoma : an IgG1 that bound nearly exclusively to GD1a and an IgG2b that bound GD1a, GT1b, and GT1aalpha. Both antibodies readily readily detected gangliosides via ELISA, TLC immune overlay, immunohistochemistry, and immunocytochemistry. In contrast to prior reports using anti-GD1a and anti-GT1b IgM class monoclonal antibodies, the new antibodies bound avidly to granule neurons in brain tissue sections and cell cultures. Mice lacking complex gangliosides are improved hosts for raising high-affinity, high-titer anti-ganglioside IgG antibodies for probing for the distribution and physiology of gangliosides and the pathophysiology of anti-ganglioside antibodies.     

Modeling <Emphasis Type="Italic">Neisseria meningitidis</Emphasis> metabolism: from genome to metabolic fluxes

Background  

Neisseria meningitidis is a human pathogen that can infect diverse sites within the human host. The major diseases caused by N. meningitidis are responsible for death and disability, especially in young infants. In general, most of the recent work on N. meningitidis focuses on potential antigens and their functions, immunogenicity, and pathogenicity mechanisms. Very little work has been carried out on Neisseria primary metabolism over the past 25 years.