Studies on the biochemical basis of the nutritional quality of tsetse fly diets

Batches of freeze-dried pig and cow blood, whose nutritional value to G. p. palpalis ranged from low to near optimum, were analysed for amino acid, triglyceride and cholesterol content. The results of the chemical analyses were compared with the nutritional quality parameters observed when each batch of blood was fed to G. p. palpalis in an attempt to establish a chemical basis for the nutritional quality of diets for Glossina. In general, those pig or cow blood diets that had a higher nutritional quality also had a significantly higher amino acid content than the suboptimal diets. There were significant differences between the triglyceride and cholesterol content of pig and cow blood, with pig blood having more triglyceride, but less cholesterol than bovine blood. There was no apparent correlation between the triglyceride and cholesterol content and the nutritional quality of blood.     

Survival in sinoatrial disorder (sick-sinus syndrome).

A total of 381 patients with established (156) or potential (225) sinoatrial dysfunction were included in a 10-year prospective survey to determine the course of the disease and the benefits of pacing. With the exclusion of nine patients who were lost to follow-up, 61 were fitted with pacemakers. The overall survival of patients with established and potential dysfunction was similar and apparently indistinguishable from that of the normal population. Pacemaker implantation had little discernible effect on mortality though it reduced some incapacitating symptoms. These findings suggest that sinoatrial dysfunction is a relatively benign condition. Hence pacing should probably not be adopted as a routing measure but be reserved for patients with troublesome symptoms.     

Interaction of hydrophobic bis (D-mannose) derivatives with adipocyte and erythrocyte sugar transport systems

The inhibition of sugar uptake by a series of hydrophobic bis(D-mannose) derivatives has been measured in rat adipocytes. When the D-mannose moieties of the bis compounds are separated by a hexane bridge the transport inhibition constant (Ki) is greater than for a decane-bridged molecule. This is probably due to the increased hydrophobicity of the bridge of the decane-bridged compound. The enhancement in affinity due to the second sugar in the bis(D-mannose) derivatives is probably only 2-fold, since half reduction of the bis(D-mannosyloxy)hexane increases Ki approx. 2-3-fold. N'-DNP-1,3-bis(D-mannos-4'-yloxy)propyl-2-amine has very high affinity in insulin-treated cells. The affinity is approx. 1000-fold higher than for D-mannose. This enhancement is probably due to the hydrophobicity of the DNP group. The distance from the sugar to the hydrophobic group is important because an increase in Ki occurs if an aminocaproyl spacer is introduced between the DNP group and 1,3-bis(D-mannos-4'-yloxy)propyl-2-amine. Aminocaproyl and glycyl spacers also increase the Ki for NAP derivatives of 1,3-bis(D-mannos-4'-yloxy)propyl-2-amine. Each of the hydrophobic bis(D-mannose) derivatives has a lower Ki in insulin-treated cells. This may be due to an insulin responsive hydrophobic interaction between the hydrophobic portion of the sugar and a hydrophobic domain in the transport system. The inhibition constants for the hydrophobic bis(D-mannose) compounds have also been measured in human erythrocytes.     

Evidence for two asymmetric conformational states in the human erythrocyte sugar-transport system.

6-O-methyl-, 6-O-propyl-, 6-O-pentyl- and 6-O-benzyl-D-galactose, and 6-O-methyl-, 6-O-propyl- and 6-O-pentyl-D-glucose inhibit the glucose-transport system of the human erythrocyte when added to the external medium. Penetration of 6-O-methyl-D-galactose is inhibited by D-glucose, suggesting that it is transported by the glucose-transport system, but the longer-chain 6-O-alkyl-D-galactoses penetrate by a slower D-glucose-insensitive route at rates proportional to their olive oil/water partition coefficients. 6-O-n-Propyl-D-glucose and 6-O-n-propyl-D-galactose do not significantly inhibit L-sorbose entry or D-glucose exit when present only on the inside of the cells whereas propyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside, which also penetrates the membrane slowly by a glucose-insensitive route, only inhibits L-sorbose entry or D-glucose exit when present inside the cells, and not when on the outside. The 6-O-alkyl-D-galactoses, like the other nontransported C-4 and C-6 derivatives, maltose and 4,6-O-ethylidene-D-glucose, protect against fluorodinitrobenzene inactivation, whereas propyl beta-D-glucopyranoside stimulates the inactivation. Of the transported sugars tested, those modified at C-1, C-2 and C-3 enhance fluorodinitrobenzene inactivation, where those modified at C-4 and C-6 do not, but are inert or protect against inactivation. An asymmetric mechanism is proposed with two conformational states in which the sugar binds to the transport system so that C-4 and C-6 are in contact with the solvent on the outside and C-1 is in contact with the solvent on the inside of the cell. It is suggested that fluorodinitrobenzene reacts with the form of the transport system that binds sugars at the inner side of the membrane. An Appendix describes the theoretical basis of the experimental methods used for the determination of kinetic constants for non-permeating inhibitors.     

Synthesis and storage of a neurohormone in insect brains in vitro

The build-up of neurosecretory material in the median neurosecretory cells and fibre tracts of cultured cockroach brains was demonstrated by staining and bioassay. Examination of the cultured brains by electron microscopy showed active production of neurosecretory granules after 3 days in vitro. The close correlation of the results obtained by these different methods of assay leaves little doubt that a neurohormone is being synthesized and stored.     

Structural and functional characterization of second-coordination sphere mutants of soybean lipoxygenase-1.

Lipoxygenases are an important class of non-heme iron enzymes that catalyze the hydroperoxidation of unsaturated fatty acids. The details of the enzymatic mechanism of lipoxygenases are still not well understood. This study utilizes a combination of kinetic and structural probes to relate the lipoxygenase mechanism of action with structural modifications of the iron's second coordination sphere. The second coordination sphere consists of Gln(495) and Gln(697), which form a hydrogen bond network between the substrate cavity and the first coordination sphere (Asn(694)). In this investigation, we compared the kinetic and structural properties of four mutants (Q495E, Q495A, Q697N, and Q697E) with those of wild-type soybean lipoxygenase-1 and determined that changes in the second coordination sphere affected the enzymatic activity by hydrogen bond rearrangement and substrate positioning through interaction with Gln(495). The nature of the C-H bond cleavage event remained unchanged, which demonstrates that the mutations have not affected the mechanism of hydrogen atom tunneling. The unusual and dramatic inverse solvent isotope effect (SIE) observed for the Q697E mutant indicated that an Fe(III)-OH(-) is the active site base. A new transition state model for hydrogen atom abstraction is proposed.