MgATP-dependent glucose 6-phosphate-stimulated Ca2+ accumulation in liver microsomal fractions. Effects of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and GTP

Ca2+ release triggered by inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) and/or GTP has been studied with rough and smooth microsomes isolated from rat liver. Microsomes were loaded with Ca2+ in the presence of MgATP and in the presence or in the absence of glucose 6-phosphate (glucose-6-P) which markedly stimulated the MgATP-dependent Ca2+ accumulation in rough and smooth microsomes (5- and 10-fold, respectively). Upon addition of IP3 (5 microM), rough and smooth microsomes rapidly release a part (not exceeding 20%) of the Ca2+ previously accumulated both in the absence and in the presence of glucose-6-P. Under the same experimental conditions, inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate was ineffective in triggering any Ca2+ release. Upon addition of GTP (10 microM) both the microsomal fractions progressively release the Ca2+ previously accumulated in the presence of glucose-6-P, when 3% polyethylene glycol was also present. In the absence of polyethylene glycol, GTP released Ca2+ from rough microsomes only, and GTP plus IP3 caused a Ca2+ release which was the sum of the Ca2+ releases caused by GTP and IP3 independently. Both IP3 and GTP, added to microsomes at the beginning of the glucose-6-P-stimulated Ca2+ uptake, reduced the Ca2+ accumulation into rough and smooth microsomes without modifying the initial rate (3 min) of Ca2+ uptake. Also in these conditions, the effects of GTP and IP3 were merely additive. These results indicate that both rough and smooth liver microsomes are responsive to IP3 and GTP with respect to Ca2+ release and that IP3 and GTP likely act independently.     

Studies on the mechanism of formation of 4-hydroxynonenal during microsomal lipid peroxidation

The mechanism of the formation of 4-hydroxynonenal through the NADPH-linked microsomal lipid peroxidation was investigated. The results were as follows: 4-hydroxynonenal arises exclusively from arachidonic acid contained in the polar phospholipids, neither arachidonic acid of the neutral lipids nor linoleic acid of the polar or neutral lipids are substrates for 4-hydroxynonenal generation. This finding results from the estimation of the specific radioactivity of 4-hydroxynonenal produced by microsomes prelabelled in vivo with [U-14C]arachidonic acid. Phospholipid-bound 15-hydroperoxyarachidonic acid would have the structural requirements needed for 4-hydroxynonenal (CH3-(CH2)4-CH(OH)-CH=CH-CHO). Microsomes supplemented with 15-hydroperoxyarachidonic acid and NADPH, ADP/iron converted only minimal amounts (0.6 mol%) of 15-hydroperoxyarachidonic acid into 4-hydroxynonenal; similarly, 15-hydroperoxyarachidonic acid incubated at pH 7.4 in the presence of ascorbate/iron yielded only small amounts of 4-hydroxynonenal with a rate orders of magnitude below that observed with microsomes. Phospholipid-bound 15-hydroperoxyarachidonic acid is therefore not a likely intermediate in the reaction pathway leading to 4-hydroxynonenal. The rate of 4-hydroxynonenal formation is highest during the very initial phase of its formation and the onset does not show a lag phase, suggesting a transient intermediate predominantly formed during the early phase of microsomal lipid peroxidation. After 60 min of incubation, 204 nmol polyunsaturated fatty acids (20 nmol 18:2, 143 nmol 20:4, 41 nmol 22:6) were lost per mg microsomal protein and the incubation mixture contained 206 nmol lipid peroxides, 71.6 nmol malonic dialdehyde and 4.6 nmol 4-hydroxynonenal per mg protein. Under artificial conditions (pH 1.0, ascorbate/iron, 20 h of incubation) not comparable to the microsomal peroxidation system, 15-hydroperoxyarachidonic acid can be decomposed in good yields (15 mol%) into 4-hydroxynonenal. Autoxidation of arachidonic acid in the presence of ascorbate/iron gave after 25 h of incubation 2.8 mol% (pH 7.4) and 1.5 mol% (pH 1.0) 4-hydroxynonenal. The most remarkable difference between the non-enzymic system and the enzymic microsomal system is that the latter forms 4-hydroxynonenal at a much higher rate.     

Translational regulation of the synthesis of a major heat shock protein in HeLa cells

The synthesis of a major heat shock protein (HSP 70) was measured in HeLa cells incubated at 42.5 degrees C and then transferred to 37 degrees C or 30 degrees C. After 90 min, synthesis of HSP 70 decreased by 54 and 85%, respectively, whereas HSP 70 mRNA was reduced at most by 20%. Therefore, the reduced synthesis of HSP 70 could not be accounted for by mRNA turnover. HSP 70 was associated with large polyribosomes (6-10 ribosomes) in cells kept at 42.5 degrees C, but with medium or small polyribosomes in cells transferred to 37 degrees C or 30 degrees C (5-6 or 2-3 ribosomes, respectively). Addition of puromycin to these cells resulted in the release of all ribosomes from HSP 70 mRNA, indicating that they were translationally active. The regulation of HSP 70 synthesis was investigated in cell-free systems prepared from heat-shocked or control cells and incubated at 30 degrees C and 42 degrees C. After 5 min at 42 degrees C, the cell-free system from heat-shocked cells synthesized protein at 3 times the rate of the control cell-free system. This difference was in large part due to synthesis of HSP 70. Addition of HSP mRNA to the control cell-free system stimulated protein synthesis at 42 degrees C, but not at 30 degrees C. These findings suggest that translation of HSP 70 mRNA is specifically promoted at high temperature and repressed during recovery from heat shock by regulatory mechanisms active at the level of initiation.     

Inhibition of viral mRNA translation in interferon-treated L cells infected with reovirus.

Murine L cells were treated with interferon (IFN) concentrations which reduced by 75 to 80% the synthesis of viral mRNA after infection with reovirus. Protein synthesis was not inhibited in these cells up to 6 h after infection, but a large fraction of the viral mRNA was not associated with polyribosomes and sedimented at about 50S. In contrast, most of the reovirus mRNA was associated with polyribosomes in control infected cells. This mRNA was of similar size to non-polyribosomal mRNA from IFN-treated cells when analyzed by Northern blot hybridization with a cloned cDNA for the s2 reovirus mRNA, indicating that the non-polyribosomal mRNA was not appreciably degraded. Viral mRNA was labeled with [3H]uridine and the non-polyribosomal mRNA was isolated from IFN-treated cells. This mRNA could quantitatively bind to 80S initiation complexes when incubated in a rabbit reticulocyte cell-free system. These findings indicated that the non-polyribosomal RNA was translatable, but that its binding to functional initiation complexes was inhibited in IFN-treated cells by a discriminatory mechanism, which did not affect translation of cellular mRNA. Previous experiments showed that mRNA is blocked in 48S complexes when the alpha subunit of initiation factor eIF-2 is phosphorylated by the double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase induced by IFN. A localized activation of this kinase could explain the block of viral mRNA in 48S complexes. By labeling the phosphoproteins of IFN-treated cells with 32P, eIF-2 (alpha P) was shown to cosediment with non-polyribosomal mRNA, presumably in 48S complexes.     

The phylogeny of the hominoid primates: a statistical analysis of the DNA-DNA hybridization data

Sibley and Ahlquist compared the single-copy nuclear DNA sequences of the hominoid primates using DNA-DNA hybridization. From this data set they estimated a phylogeny that clusters man and chimpanzees using a distance Wagner procedure. However, no assessment of statistical confidence in this estimated phylogeny was made, despite the fact that their data set contains internal inconsistencies concerning the correct branching order. This paper presents a modification of Pielou's Q- statistic that allows one to make nonparametric tests of phylogenetic relationship from distance data. The results of this analysis indicate that the estimated phylogeny of Sibley and Ahlquist is without statistical significance owing to the internal inconsistencies of the data set. A survey and additional analyses of other types of molecular data indicate that the phylogeny that clusters chimpanzees and gorillas and has the human lineage splitting off earlier is statistically consistent with all the molecular data (including the DNA-DNA hybridization data), whereas the phylogeny estimated by Sibley and Ahlquist can be rejected at the 5% level using the data on restriction- endonuclease sites in the mitochondrial genome.      

Molecular structure of peptaibol antibiotics: solution conformation and crystal structure of the octapeptide corresponding to the 2-9 sequence of emerimicins III and IV

The infrared absorption and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance analyses of chloroform solutions of the terminally-blocked segment corresponding to the 2-9 sequence of emerimicins III and IV, -(Aib)3-L-Val-Gly-L-Leu-(Aib)2-, are consistent with the presence of a 3(10)-helical structure of high thermal stability. The crystal structure of the octapeptide, obtained by X-ray diffraction indicates the formation of a right-handed 3(10)-helix, stabilized by six consecutive intramolecular N-H....O:C H-bonds, slightly distorted at the level of the L-Leu residue.     

Effect of pollution on some freshwater species. II. Bioaccumulation and toxic effects of experimental lead pollution on the ganglia in Viviparus ater (Mollusca, Gastropoda)

The effect of lead on ganglia of Viviparus ater were studied by histochemical and histomorphological procedures. The pollution experiment should be considered a "short-time static bioassay" because of its experimental characteristics. There was considerable accumulation of lead in the ganglia as determined by atomic absorbance (A.A.S.). The cytological damage principally affected the neuronal cell bodies which undergo degenerative processes. The most serious cytopathological changes occurred in the following sequence: nuclear damage leading to pyknosis; nucleolar damage until disappearance; changes in Nissl bodies, at times forming a uniform mass. These cytological disorders led to markedly altered protein synthesis. Nerve fibers and neuroglia did not appear affected by lead exposure, even at higher doses. Membrane enzymes, phosphorylase, NADHDH, NADPHDH and SDH activities were decreased, whereas D-LDH, G-6-PDH, G-6-Pase and MAO activities increased. GDH was unchanged. Changes in polar lipid composition were also observed with an increase of phospholipids and a decrease of sulpholipids and cerebrosides.     

Age-Related Changes in Aldehyde Dehydrogenase Activity of Rat Brain, Liver, and Heart

Abstract: Aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity was measured in brains, livers, and hearts of 23–26-month-old and 3-month-old rats. A significant increase of ALDH activity was found in whole brain of old rats with both acetaldehyde (39%) and propionylaldehyde (15%) used as substrates. In different brain areas of old rats, with acetaldehyde used as substrate, a significant increase of ALDH activity was found in striatum (30–50%) and cerebral cortex (37%). However, no significant difference in ALDH activity was found in livers and hearts of young and old rats. Preliminary experiments showed a significant increase of aldehyde reductase activity (52%) with p -nitrobenzaldehyde used as substrate in whole brain of old rats compared with young rats. The present work indicates that an increase of ALDH activity in brain of old rats may be an adaptive phenomenon.     

Polyribosomes associated with microfilaments in cultured lens cells

Epithelial hamster lens cells, transformed by SV40 can be grown in suspension culture. Triton X-100 extraction of these cells grown under conditions when ribosome run off is blocked releases about 40% of the total amount of polyribosomes, designated as free- and loosely-bound polyribosomes. The Triton ghosts retain the remaining polysomal population which can be released by a combined treatment with deoxycholate and Nonidet P 40. Electron microscopic examination of the ghosts reveals microfilament-associated ribosome clusters next to a fraction of polysomes still attached to membranes. Preincubation of the cells with cytochalasin D prior to polyribosome isolation enables us to discriminate between these two latter polysome populations. The experiments indicate that about 25% of the polyribosomes are attached to microfilaments, while the remaining 35% are tightly bound to the membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum. When the different polyribosome classes were translated in a reticulocyte lysate, no significant differences could be observed in the patterns of the newly synthesized polypeptides. In all cases actin was one of the major products synthesized de novo.