Degradation of aromatic amino acids by Rhodococcus erythropolis

A Gram-positive Rhodococcus erythropolis strain S1 was shown to assimilate aromatic amino acids such as L-phenylalanine, L-tyrosine, L-tryptophan, D-phenylalanine, D-tyrosine and D-tryptophan, which were utilized not only as the sole carbon source but also as a suitable nitrogen source. The highest growth on these aromatic amino acids occurred at a temperature of 30°C. L-Phenylalanine, L-tyrosine and L-tryptophan degradative pathways would appear to be independent, and to be induced alternatively. The strain S1 also showed the ability to assimilate peptides which consisted of only L-phenylalanine and L-tyrosine.     

Genetic differentiation ofOryzias minutillus in Thailand

An allozyme survey was conducted in eleven local populations ofOryzias minutillus from Thailand. The region-specific distribution of alleles and the genetic relationship among the eleven populations revealed that they represented major three population groups, within the country as a whole; the Peninsular, Mae Nam Chao Phraya and Mekong subpopulations. Because their distribution boundaries coincide with geographic features, it is supposed that their genetic differentiation is primarily due to geographic isolation. Karyotype polymorphism has been reported only from the Mae Nam Chao Phraya subpopulation, suggesting that the variant karyotype evolved after allopatric isolation of the three subpopulations.     

Purification and Some Properties of Nucleases from Shii-take,Lentinus edodes

Three kinds of nuclease preparations, each of which having both endonuclease activity that formed 5′-mononucleotides and 3′-nucleotidase activity, were separated and partially purified from Shii-take, Lentinus edodes. Both enzyme activities of each preparation showed a similar thermostability and electrophoretic mobility on Polyacrylamide gel, and a competitive relationship was observed between RNA and 3′-AMP in their enzyme reactions. From these results, it is concluded that both enzyme activities of these three preparations reside in a single protein, respectively. They resemble one another in substrate specificity, cleavage pattern of RNA and thermostability, but are distinguishable from one another by molecular weight, electrophoretic mobility and optimum pH for degradation of RNA.     

Inhibition of serine proteases: activity of 1,3-diazetidine-2,4-diones.

The present work demonstrates that the 1,3-diazetidine-2,4-dione nucleus is effective as a scaffold of serine protease inhibitors. Compound 1 displayed high activity against human cathepsin G and alpha-chymotrypsin (0.39, 0.69 nM). Compound 6 exhibited 0.85 nM inhibition of human chymase. Compound 10 was a selective inhibitor against human neutrophil elastase.     

Effects of ghrelin on neuronal activity in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus in infantile rats: An in vitro study

Ghrelin is an endogenous ligand for the growth hormone (GH) secretagogue (GHS) receptor (GHS-R) and a potent stimulant for GH secretion even in infantile rats before puberty. Although the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH) might be a site of action for ghrelin to induce GH release, the electrophysiological effect of ghrelin on VMH neurons in infantile rats remains to be elucidated. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of ghrelin on VMH neurons using hypothalamic slices of infantile rats. Ghrelin excited a majority of VMH neurons in a concentration-dependent manner. VMH neurons that were excited by GH releasing peptide-6 (GHRP-6), a synthetic GHS, were also excited by ghrelin and vice versa. Repeated application of ghrelin to the same VMH neuron decreased progressively the excitatory responses depending on the number of times it was administered. The excitatory effect of ghrelin on VMH neurons in normal artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ACSF) persisted in low Ca²⁺-high Mg²⁺ ACSF. The present results indicate that (1) ghrelin excites a majority of VMH neurons dose-dependently and postsynaptically and (2) the excitatory effects of ghrelin are mimicked by GHRP-6 and desensitized by repeated applications of ghrelin.     

Idiopathic oromandibular dyskinesia treated by Vo complex microstereotactic thalamotomy

Two cases of oromandibular or buccolingual dyskinesia, which did not respond to medical therapy, had lesions produced in the Vo complex of the thalamus by microstereotactic surgery with almost complete relief of symptoms. It was assumed the symptom, as well as levodopa-induced dyskinesia, may depend on the striato-pallido-thalamic projection.     

Frequency of the fragile X syndrome in institutionalized mentally retarded females in Japan

Summary The fragile X [fra(X)] syndrome was screened on 190 Japanese institutionalized females with moderate to severe mental retardation. Two inmates with severe mental retardation (IQ 20) had the fra(X) chromosome in 26% and 15% of the cells examined, indicating that the prevalence of the fra(X) syndrome was about 1% in all female inmates and was about 3.27% in severely mentally retarded females with known causes. However, no female with fra(X) syndrome was found in 35 moderately retarded females. Both had brothers with the fra(X) syndrome and the prevalence was 10% in females with a family history of mental retardation. In addition, the replication study of the fra(X) chromosome in the patients supported the proposal that an excess of the early replicated fra(X) chromosome is related to the mental capacity in heterozygous females. Therefore, the fra(X) syndrome should not be ignored even in severely mentally retarded females with a family history, though the heterozygotes are commonly normal to subnormal in their mental development. in addition, the replication study of the fra(X) chromosome may help to estimate mental development in the carrier children.     

Analysis of Flow Phenomena in Gastric Contents Induced by Human Gastric Peristalsis Using CFD

This paper uses computational fluid dynamics to simulate and analyze intragastric fluid motions induced by human peristalsis. We created a two-dimensional computational domain of the distal stomach where peristalsis occurs. The motion of the gastric walls induced by an antral contraction wave (ACW) on the wall of the computational domain was well simulated using a function defined in this study. Retropulsive flow caused by ACW was observed near the occluded region, reaching its highest velocity of approximately 12 mm/s in the narrowest region. The viscosity of the model gastric contents applied in this study hardly affected the highest velocity, but greatly affected the velocity profile in the computational domain. The shear rate due to gastric fluid motion was calculated using the numerical output data. The shear rate reached relatively high values of approximately 20 s⁻¹ in the most occluded region. The shear rate profile was almost independent of the fluid viscosity. We also simulated mass transfer of a gastric digestive enzyme (pepsin) in model gastric content when peristalsis occurs on the gastric walls. The visualized simulation results suggest that gastric peristalsis is capable of efficiently mixing pepsin secreted from the gastric walls with an intragastric fluid.     

Site-directed mutagenesis of putative substrate-binding residues reveals a mechanism controlling the different stereospecificities of two tropinone reductases.

Two tropinone reductases (TRs) constitute a key branch point in the biosynthetic pathway of tropane alkaloids, which are mainly produced in several solanaceous plants. The two TRs share 64% identical amino acid residues and reduce the 3-carbonyl group of a common substrate, tropinone, but they produce distinct alcohol products with different stereospecific configurations. Previous x-ray crystallographic analysis has revealed their highly conserved overall folding, and the modeling of tropinone within the putative substrate-binding sites has suggested that the different stereospecificities may be determined solely by the different binding orientations of tropinone to the enzymes. In this study, we have constructed various mutant TRs, in which putative substrate-binding residues from one TR were substituted with those found in the corresponding positions of the other TR. Substitution of five amino acid residues resulted in an almost complete reversal of stereospecificity, indicating that the different stereospecificities are indeed determined by the binding orientation of tropinone. Detailed kinetic analysis of the mutant enzymes has shown that TR stereospecificity is determined by varying the contributions from electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions and that the present TR structures represent highly evolved forms, in which strict stereospecificities and rapid turnover are accomplished together.