Cloning of Candida pelliculosa beta-glucosidase gene and its expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Summary Candida pelliculosa var. acetaetherius is a strain of yeast which can utilize cellobiose as the carbon source. From a gene library prepared from this yeast, the -glucosidase gene has been cloned in a S. cerevisiae host using a chromogenic substrate, 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl--glucoside as an indicator. It was proved by Southern analysis that the DNA fragment carrying the -glucosidase gene originated from C. pelliculosa. -Glucosidase produced by S. cerevisiae transformants was secreted into the periplasmic space. In Candida, -glucosidase was not induced by cellobiose but was derepressed by lowering the concentration of glucose. The regulation of -glucosidase synthesis in S. cerevisiae carrying the cloned -glucosidase was not clear compared with that in Candida, however, the enzyme activity in low glucose medium (0.05%) was reproducibly higher than in high glucose medium (2%). We have found the sequence that controls the expression of the -glucosidase gene negatively in S. cerevisiae.     

Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) of Genomic DNA of Moraxella (Branhamella) catarrhalis Isolates in a Hospital

Epidemiological typing, based on restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), was attempted for the 38 clinical isolates of Moraxella catarrhalis obtained at Shinshu University Hospital during the years 1987 and 1993. Digestion with SmaI or NotI generated well separable, 12 to 5 genomic DNA fragments ranging from 1,000 kb to 30 kb and the strains could be classified into 14 or 13 types, respectively. The electrophoretic profile differed with the strain in most of them and was hence useful to distinguish the each strain. Investigation for their RFLP have, however, suggested that majority of them, including the type strain ATCC25238, may have derived from a common ancestor.     

Methenamine-Silver Staining: a Simple and Sensitive Staining Method for Senile Plaques and Neurofibrillary Tangles

An improved methenamine-silver impregnation method is presented which exhibits sensitivity for amyloid substances comparable to that of anti-β protein immunostaining. In optimally treated sections, this technique stained both β-amyloid deposits and neurofibrillary tangles, which are known to have a β-pleated structure. This simple procedure allows a large number of sections to be stained for routine examination.     

Identification and characterization of apolipoprotein(AII-E2-AII) complex in human plasma lipoprotein.

A new apolipoprotein complex designated as the apo(AII-E2-AII) complex was identified in the lipoprotein fractions of human plasma with apoE phenotypes containing apoE2 (E4/E2, E3/E2, and E2/E2). Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) followed by an immunoblotting assay using anti-apoE or anti-apoAII antibodies, established that the apo(AII-E2-AII) complex, with a molecular weight of 58,000, was identical to the complex consisting of apoE and apoAII, and that it also dissociated following reduction with beta-mercaptoethanol. This new complex was also demonstrated to be distinct from the apo(E-AII) complex and apoE monomer by isoelectric focusing, in the samples that were not treated with beta-mercaptoethanol. In apoE phenotype E3/E2, the apo(AII-E2-AII) complex was primarily included in the high-density lipoprotein (HDL, 1.063 < d < 1.21 g/ml) fraction, but was also observed in a small quantity in the very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL, d < 1.006 g/ml) fraction. For further characterization, the apo(AII-E2-AII) complex was isolated by preparative SDS-PAGE, and no contamination of apo(E-AII) complex and apoE monomer was detected by immunoblotting assay using an anti-apoE antibody. It was confirmed by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) system that a molecular ratio between apoAII monomer and apoE in the isolated apo(AII-E2-AII) complex was approx. 2, when the apo(E-AII) complex was used as a standard with the ratio of 1:1. It indicates that the apo(AII-E2-AII) complex is formed from two molecules of apoAII monomer and one molecule of apoE.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Partial purification of adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate phosphodiesterases from rat pancreas in the presence of excess protease inhibitors.

(i) Three forms of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterases (3′,5′-cyclic AMP 5′-nucleotidohydrolase, EC 3.1.4.17), F1, F2-I and F2-II, were partially purified from the soluble fraction of rat pancreas in the presence of excess protease inhibitors by DEAE-cellulose column chromatography and gel filtration and were characterized. (ii) F2-II, which was purified 31-fold, exhibited a single peak of activity on both polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing. The enzyme had a molecular weight of about 70,000, an isoelectric point of 3.9, and an optimal pH around 8.5 and required Mg²⁺ or Mn²⁺ but not Ca²⁺ for activity. The K_m values of this enzyme for cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP were 1 and 50 μm, respectively, while V values of this enzyme for cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP were 36.1 and 12.6 nmol min^?1 (mg of protein)^?1, respectively. Cyclic GMP competitively inhibited hydrolysis of cyclic AMP by this enzyme. Ro20-1724 [4-(3-butoxy-4-methoxybenzyl)-2-imidazolidinone] also inhibited hydrolysis of cyclic AMP competitively, with a K_i value of 1 μm. (iii) Fraction F1, which was purified 10-fold, had a molecular weight of more than 500,000 and required Mg²⁺ for activity. Its K_m values for cyclic AMP were 1 and 5 μm. Its K_m value for cyclic GMP was 45 μm. Fraction F2-I, which was purified 26-fold, had a molecular weight of about 70,000. The ratio of the initial velocity of hydrolysis of cyclic GMP to that of cyclic AMP was 0.5 at a substrate concentration of 1 μm.