Stable isotopes in fish otoliths discriminate between lagoonal and oceanic residents of Taiaro Atoll (Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia)

 The fully enclosed Taiaro lagoon is hypersaline (42.5 psu) and non-tidal; constant salinity and water level result from strong evaporation balanced by low percolation through the lagoon floor. Seawater can flow over the atoll rim during exceptionally high seas and may then replenish lagoonal communities with propagules of oceanic origin. The distinctive water chemistry of the lagoon suggests a possible way of identifying these immigrants. We established this potential by analysing stable isotopes of carbon and oxygen in the recent growth layers of otoliths of two adult reef fishes, Chaetodon ulietensis and Acanthurus triostegus, collected from both sides of the atoll rim. Fish from the two locations were discriminated by their isotopic signatures, suggesting that analysis of the microchemical signatures deposited during the larval development could be used in future work to determine which individuals and species complete their life-cycles in this unusual lagoon. Accepted: 28 August 1997     

Proteolytic specificity of chicken cathepsin L on bovineβ-casein

The proteolytic specificity of chicken cathepsin L was studied using bovine -casein as substrate. The peptide mixtures obtained after various times of hydrolysis were separated by RP-HPLC and ten peptides were identified. Chicken cathepsin L accepts proline residues in all positions except P ₁ . Looking at the amino acid residues on the amino side of the scissile bond we found three times the Tyr-Pro pair at P ₁ –P ₂ positions and that the S ₁ subsite can interact with modified amino acids such as phosphoserine.Abbreviations RP-HPLC reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography - NMec N-methyl coumarylamide - TEA triethylamine - TFA trifluoroacetic acid     

Solubility and reactivity of caseins and beta-lactoglobulin in protic solvents.

The study of the solubility of unstructured proteins (_S1-, -, and -casein) and well-structured globulin (-lactoglobulin) in low water binary solvent systems demonstrated the crucial importance of solvent polarity and neutralization of protein polar functions on the final outcome of solubility experiments. The solubilities up to 38, 56, and 96% in CHCl₃/CH₃OH (1/1, v/v) acidified with HCl and up to 5, 10, and 25% in CHCl₃/CH₃OH (1/1, v/v) in the presence of triethylamine (TEA) were obtained for -, _S1-, and -casein, respectively. The importance of protein charge neutralization was apparent when the solubilization was performed in basified CHCl₃/CH₃OH media, giving the optimal results when the studied proteins were brought before to their isoionic point. The maximum solubility of -casein at its pI in 30–70% methanol in CHCl₃ was reaching 50–60% with triethylamine (TEA) added. -lactoglobulin could be solubilized up to 70% in CHCl₃/CH₃OH (7/3, v/v) acidified with HCl and up to 40% in CHCl₃/CH₃OH (3/7, v/v) in the presence of TEA. The observed yield of reductive alkylation of -lactoglobulin was much higher (98%) when performed in studied solvent system than in aqueous conditions (75%). Apparently, steric hindrance of the well-folded -barrel (in aqueous conditions) structure masks the portion of -NH₂ groups. In the case of unstructured aqueous media -casein, 90% alkylation yields were obained in organic and aqueous conditions.     

Are antibodies responsible for a decreased superovulatory response in goats which have been treated repeatedly with porcine follicle-stimulating hormone?

Repeated administration of xenogenic gonadotropins in human or animal species may be responsible for antibody production and refractoriness. An experiment was conducted in which goats were treated with porcine FSH (p-FSH) at 6-week intervals for a period of 7 months. A sensitive radioimmunoassay (RIA) was used to detect antibodies to p-FSH in plasma samples taken at short-term intervals during a 7-month period. Antibodies appeared after the first injection, and levels increased following booster injections. A high correlation rate existed between antibody level and superovulatory response. Refractoriness in goats was associated with a high level of antibodies.     

An endogenous ligand for the central sulfonylurea receptor

An endogenous ligand for the rat central sulfonylurea receptor has been evidenced in the rat central nervous system. The characteristics of this ligand (extractibility, non-dialysability, chromatographic behaviour on different media, sensitivity to proteases) indicate that it is a neutral to slightly basic peptide.     

Transmission of Megatrypanum Trypanosomes to Cervus dama by Tabanidae1

Four fallow deer, Cervus dama, became infected with Trypanosoma (Megatrypanum) sp. by oral application of triturated guts from tabanids collected in an area with deer but without any cattle; four control calves remained negative. Upon challenge with triturated guts from tabanids from an area with pastured cattle, the four calves became infected with Trypanosoma (M.) theileri. The prepatent period in deer was five days or less. Haematopota spp. and Tabanus spp. were identified as vectors of the deer trypanosomes. It is concluded that the trypanosomes of C. dama belong to a Megatrypanum species that is not identical with T. theileri.     

Chromatographic and immunological evidence for mammalian GnRH and chicken GnRH II in eel (Anguilla anguilla) brain and pituitary

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) peptides in the brain and pituitary of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) were investigated by reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and radioimmunoassay with region-specific antisera. Two GnRH molecular forms were demonstrated in brain and pituitary extracts. One form eluted in the same position as synthetic mammalian GnRH on HPLC and was recognized by antibodies directed against the NH2 and COOH termini of mammalian GnRH as well as by antibodies to the middle region. The second form eluted in the same position as synthetic chicken GnRH II and was recognized by specific antibodies to this molecule. Salmon GnRH and chicken GnRH I were not detected. The occurrence of mammalian GnRH in teleost fish suggests that this molecular form is more ancient than was previously suspected and arose earlier than in primitive tetrapods, or that it has arisen in the eel through random mutation of salmon GnRH. The lack of salmon GnRH in the eel brain indicates that this molecular form is not common to all teleost species. The finding in eel brain of chicken GnRH II, which has previously been described in species of Mammalia, Aves, Reptilia, Amphibia, Osteichthyes, and Chondrichthyes, supports our hypothesis that this widespread structural variant may represent an early evolved and conserved form of GnRH.     

Generation and amplification of the cytosolic calcium signal during secretory responses to gonadotropin-releasing hormone

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) stimulates characteristic biphasic increases in cytosolic calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) and in luteinizing hormone (LH) release in cultured gonadotrophs, with an early peak followed by a prolonged plateau in both responses. Analysis of [Ca2+]i by dual-wavelength fluorimetric assay and of LH release at 5-sec intervals in perifused pituitary cells revealed increases in both responses within a few seconds of exposure to GnRH. The maximum elevation of [Ca2+]i occurred within 20 sec, and the peak gonadotropin release in 35 sec; the total duration of the spike phase for both [Ca2+]i and LH release was 2.5 min. Under extracellular Ca2(+)-deficient conditions, the GnRH-induced peak in [Ca2+]i was reduced by about 20% and the plateau phase was abolished. Concomitantly, the magnitude of the acute phase of LH release was reduced by 40% and that of the second phase by about 90%. Recovery of the plateau phase of LH release occurred within 25 sec after addition of 1.25 mM Ca2+ to Ca2(+)-deficient medium. In a dose-dependent manner, the non-selective Ca2+ channel blockers Co2+ and Cd2+ reduced the Ca2+ current measured by whole-cell recording in pituitary gonadotrophs and abolished the extracellular Ca2(+)-dependent component of LH release. The selective calcium channel blocker, nifedipine, decreased the magnitude of the Ca2+ current and reduced the plateau phase of LH release by 50%; conversely, the dihydropyridine agonist methyl, 1,4,dihydro-2,6-dimethyl 3-nitro-4-(2-trifluorome) (Bay K 8644) consistently enhanced the amplitudes of both Ca2+ current and GnRH-induced LH release. These data reveal a close temporal correlation between changes in [Ca2+]i and LH release during GnRH action, with Ca2+ mobilization during the spike phase and Ca2+ influx through dihydropyridine-sensitive and insensitive sets of receptor-operated calcium channels during the spike and plateau phases. In addition, analysis of the magnitudes of the [Ca2+]i and LH responses to a wide range of GnRH concentrations in the presence and absence of extracellular Ca2+ is consistent with amplification of the [Ca2+]i signal in agonist-stimulated gonadotrops.