Stabilization of Bacillus subtilis Lipase A by increasing the residual packing

Introduction of well-packed residues to the interior of a protein structure could be considered as a stabilization strategy since the reduction of buried cavities might stabilize protein structure. In this study, the less-packed residues with no water-contact were selected as target sites for increasing residual packing. When Lipase A from Bacillus subtilis (179 amino acids) was used as a model system, 43 less-packed residues were initially considered by analyzing their residual packing value and residual exposure ratio. Among the 43 residues, small amino acids such as GLY and ALA were chosen as target sites. Packing increases of ALA to VAL and GLY to ALA were estimated, by molecular modeling, to give 0.5368∼0.7433 kcal mol^-1 stabilization. Mutants of Lipase A such as A38V, A75V, G80A, A105V A146V, and G172A were obtained via protein engineering. Thermostability assays revealed that A38V, G80A and G172V were the most stable mutants. This procedure for selecting the target residues for improved thermostability of Lipase A could be applied for improving the thermostability of other proteins and enzymes.     

Stabilization of Bacillus subtilis Lipase A by increasing the residual packing

Introduction of well-packed residues to the interior of a protein structure could be considered as a stabilization strategy since the reduction of buried cavities might stabilize protein structure. In this study, the less-packed residues with no water-contact were selected as target sites for increasing residual packing. When Lipase A from Bacillus subtilis (179 amino acids) was used as a model system, 43 less-packed residues were initially considered by analyzing their residual packing value and residual exposure ratio. Among the 43 residues, small amino acids such as GLY and ALA were chosen as target sites. Packing increases of ALA to VAL and GLY to ALA were estimated, by molecular modeling, to give 0.5368～0.7433?kcal mol^?1 stabilization. Mutants of Lipase A such as A38V, A75V, G80A, A105V A146V, and G172A were obtained via protein engineering. Thermostability assays revealed that A38V, G80A and G172V were the most stable mutants. This procedure for selecting the target residues for improved thermostability of Lipase A could be applied for improving the thermostability of other proteins and enzymes.     

Synthesis of fluorescent and photoaffinity-labeled derivatives of bisphenol A and their inhibitory activity toward hypoxic expression of erythropoietin

Bisphenol A derivatives, possessing a fluorescent dye and a photo-reactive group, were synthesized from bisphenol A, and the inhibitory activity of the derivatives was evaluated against hypoxic response. The synthesized derivatives were found to inhibit the hypoxic expression of erythropoietin in Hep3B cells as well as bisphenol A.     

葡萄种间杂交砧木育种F_1代植株耐盐性分析

以耐盐性较强的砧木1103P为对照品种,对左山一×SO4杂种砧木F1代的6个株系(A15、A17、A34、A35、A38和A48)及左山一×101-1杂种F1代2个株系(B24和B26)的一年生盆栽扦插苗进行100 mmol·L–1 NaCl胁迫处理,以各自无盐胁迫为对照处理。20天后,根据表型计算盐害指数,测定叶绿素含量、光合气体交换参数、叶绿素荧光参数以及生长量指标;以各项生长指标的耐盐系数为耐盐指标,通过主成分分析、相关性分析、隶属函数分析和聚类分析等方法对葡萄株系进行综合评价。结果表明,A34和A35植株无盐害症状,盐害级数为0;A15和A17植株有少部分叶片边缘焦枯,盐害级数为1。盐胁迫大幅度降低了1103P和B26等株系的叶绿素含量、光合速率、新梢生长量和生物量;而A15、A17、A34和A35植株的各项指标降低幅度较小。将生物量等12个单项指标转换成3个相互独立的综合指标,通过聚类分析,发现A34、A35、A15和A17植株的耐盐性较强,A38、A48和B24植株的耐盐性中等,1103P和B26植株的耐盐性较弱,与盐害分级结果一致。     

Transformation of Aspergillus sp. and Trichoderma reesei using the pyrithiamine resistance gene (ptrA) of Aspergillus oryzae

A pyrithiamine (PT) resistance gene (ptrA) was cloned from a PT resistant mutant of Aspergillus oryzae and was useful as a dominant selectable marker for transformation of all A. oryzae wild type strain as well as A. nidulans. For further study, we examined whether or not ptrA could be used as the transformation marker in other species of filamentous fungi. Two types of plasmid, which contain ptrA as a selectable marker, were constructed, and the transformation experiments were done with them. One is an integrative plasmid, pPTRI, and another is the autonomously replicating plasmid pPTRII, which contains AMA1. PT-resistant transformants were obtained in the cases of A. kawachii, A. terreus, A. fumigatus, and Trichoderma reesei as hosts with pPTRI and pPTRII. Furthermore, a beta-glucuronidase (GUS) gene was introduced into A. kawachii and A. fumigatus using pPTRII. Almost all the transformants turned blue on GUS assay plates. These results indicate that ptrA can also be used for some other filamentous fungi besides A. oryzae and A. nidulans.     

一种新型粘多糖结构与性能的检测

粘多糖是由糖醛酸和氨基己糖交替连接成的高分子物质, 理化性质独特, 应用范围广泛。通过对突变株兽疫链球菌Streptococcus zooepidemicus BU100进行发酵, 可产一种新型粘多糖(下文用粘多糖A代替)。利用咔唑法、Elson-Morgan法、考马斯亮蓝法、红外光谱以及13C核磁共振谱测定粘多糖A的结构, 结果显示粘多糖A中糖醛酸和氨基糖的摩尔比例接近1:1, 蛋白含量符合标准(<0.1%); 粘多糖A图谱中出现的结构特征峰大部分与透明质酸相同。对粘多糖A的实用性能进行检测, 并用透明质酸做对比, 结果表明透明质酸在两种湿度下的吸湿性均要好于粘多糖A, 但粘多糖A的保湿性要好于透明质酸。粘多糖A总体的抗氧化性好于透明质酸, 并且粘多糖A耐透明质酸酶。粘多糖A可作为保湿剂、润滑剂、抗氧化剂等被更加有效地应用在医疗和化妆品等领域。     

Isolation and Characterization of Actinomyces propionicus

Three cultures of Actinomyces have been identified as Actinomyces propionicus. Two of these strains are recent isolates, one, 427, from a case of cervico-facial actinomycosis, and one, 439, from a case of lacrimal canaliculitis. The third strain, 346, was described by F. Lentze as A. israelii serological type II. These three strains were compared with the type strain of A. propionicus ATTC 14157 and with known strains of five other Actinomyces species. Morphologically and biochemically the three new cultures of A. propionicus were identical with the type strain but closely resembled A. israelii. In serological tests making use of fluorescent antibody, all four A. propionicus strains gave negative results with antisera for A. israelii, A. bovis, A. naeslundii, and A. eriksonii, but gave positive results with antisera for A. propionicus 14157 and strain 346. The A. propionicus antisera did not stain other Actinomyces species. A. propionicus contains diaminopimelic acid (DAP) in its cell wall and produces propionic acid from glucose. All three new isolates were shown to contain DAP and to produce propionic acid. By use of the presence of DAP in the cell wall and serological tests as the differential criteria, the three cultures described in the report were specifically identified as A. propionicus.     

Homogeneity of lipopolysaccharides from Acholeplasma.

Five methods were employed to determine the heterogeneity or homogeneity of lipopolysaccharides from four acholeplasmal species, Acholeplasma axanthum, A. granularum, A. laidlawii, and A. modicum. A axanthum lipopolysaccharide behaved as a single component in all tests. A. granularum exhibited two components of identical composition and antigenic specificity. A. modicum lipopolysaccharide behaved as three components in two tests, but all three were similar in composition and identical serologically. The separable components of lipopolysaccharides from A. granularum and A. modicum probably represent size differences only. A. laidlwii lipopolysaccharide contained two distinct components by all methods. One was identified as the previously reported amino sugar polymer, whereas the other was a lipopolysaccharide containing both neutral and amino sugars.     

Purification and characterization of active component and active fragment of colicin E3.

1. Two components of colicin E3, namely proteins A and B, were prepared by means of an improved method. 2. Protein A thus obtained was more than a thousand times as active as native colicin E3 when they were assayed in terms of activity for ribosome inactivation. 3. Protein A was reconstituted to colicin E3 simply by mixing with protein B. 4. Trypsin digestion of colicin E3 yielded two fragments, T1 and T2, probably by cleaving one specific bond of the A moiety of colicin E3. 5. T2 was a complex of T2A and B proteins. T2A showed an activity equivalent to that of protein A when assayed in the in vitro system, and its activity was neutralized by protein B. Thus T2A was assigned as an active fragment of protein A. 6. T2A has a characteristic amino acid composition rich in the basic amino acid, lysine. 7. The structure and function of the colicin E3 molecule is discussed based on the results obtained with its components as well as with fragments of the components.     

HLA antigens and clinical subgroups of schizophrenia

Frequencies of HLA A, B, C, and DR antigens were studied in 100 schizophrenic patients and 919 controls from South Sweden. The patients were diagnosed according to the DSM III criteria and divided into four clinical subgroups (hebephrenic, paranoid, residual, and undifferentiated). In the schizophrenic patients as a whole significant increases were found for A2, A3, B17, B27, and Cw2 and decreases for A1, A11, and B8. A previous positive association with A9 from the same population was not confirmed. A significant heterogeneity between the four clinical subgroups was found for A3 and Bw35. Most of the associations between HLA antigens and schizophrenia reported in the literature appear to be fortuitous and dependent on the large number of trials made. However, confirmed increases have been found for A9 and B17, and confirmed decreases have been observed for A1 and B7. Some evidence for a heterogeneity between clinical subgroups was found in the present as well as in previous investigations.     

Cree antidiabetic plant extracts display mechanism-based inactivation of CYP3A4

Seventeen Cree antidiabetic medicinal plants were studied to determine their potential to inhibit cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) through mechanism-based inactivation (MBI). The ethanolic extracts of the medicinal plants were studied for their inhibition of CYP3A4 using the substrates testosterone and dibenzylfluorescein (DBF) in high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and microtiter fluorometric assays, respectively. Using testosterone as a substrate, extracts of Alnus incana, Sarracenia purpurea, and Lycopodium clavatum were identified as potent CYP3A4 MBIs, while those from Abies balsamea, Picea mariana, Pinus banksiana, Rhododendron tomentosum, Kalmia angustifolia, and Picea glauca were identified as less potent inactivators. Not unexpectedly, the other substrate, DBF, showed a different profile of inhibition. Only A. balsamea was identified as a CYP3A4 MBI using DBF. Abies balsamea displayed both NADPH- and time-dependence of CYP3A4 inhibition using both substrates. Overall, several of the medicinal plants may markedly deplete CYP3A4 through MBI and, consequently, decrease the metabolism of CYP3A4 substrates including numerous medications used by diabetics.     

Entry of diphtheria toxin into cells: possible existence of cellular factor(s) for entry of diphtheria toxin into cells was studied in somatic cell hybrids and hybrid toxins

Ehrlich ascites tumor cells were found to be very insensitive to diphtheria toxin. We formed 37 hybrids from Ehrlich tumor cells and diphtheria toxin-sensitive human fibroblasts. The effects of diphtheria toxin on protein synthesis in those hybrids were examined. The hybrids were divided into three groups on the basis of toxin sensitivity. Group A hybrids were as sensitive to diphtheria toxin as human fibroblasts, Group C were as resistant as Ehrlich tumor cells, and Group B had intermediate sensitivity. Group A hybrids had diphtheria toxin-binding sites but Group B and C had no detectable binding sites. Elongation factor-2 of all the hybrids was susceptible to ADP-ribosylation by fragment A of diphtheria toxin. Cells of Group A and B became more sensitive to CRM 45 (cross-reacting material 45 of diphtheria toxin) after they were exposed to low pH (pH = 4.5). The resistance of Group C to CRM 45 was not affected by the same treatment. Group A and B hybrids and human fibroblasts had similar sensitivities to a hybrid toxin composed of wheat germ agglutinin and fragment A of diphtheria toxin, but Group C and Ehrlich tumor cells were resistant to this hybrid toxin. All the hybrids and Ehrlich tumor cells were more sensitive to a hybrid toxin composed of wheat germ agglutinin and subunit A of ricin than were human fibroblasts. On subcloning of Group B hybrids, one Group C hybrid was obtained, but no Group A hybrid. These facts suggest that Ehrlich ascites tumor cells differ from human fibroblasts in the expression of a factor(s) that is involved in entry of fragment A of diphtheria toxin into the cytoplasm after the toxin binds to its surface receptors.     

无藻萍的RAPD分析及其在三膘组满江红种间关系研究中的应用

从满江红Azolla Lam.萍-藻共生体中提取DNA进行的RAPD系统分析通常忽视了满江红样品的异质性。本研究通过获得无藻的满江红,比较有藻萍、无藻萍和离体藻之间的RAPD指纹图谱。发现从有藻萍中提取DNA的扩增反应来源于萍藻双方DNA的共同影响。依引物和植物样本的不同,共生双方对扩增产物的贡献结果不同,说明了用无藻萍进行RAPD检测的重要性。对满江红三膘组5个种的11个无藻萍样本进行了RAPD分析,由9个引物产生的127个DNA多态片段用于计算样本间的Jaccard相似系数和UPGMA树状聚类图。结果     

Reactivity with lectins of the saccharide components of rhodopsin in reconstituted membranes. Orientation of the carbohydrates

Rhodopsin-containing liposomes may provide a model for investigating the interaction of intrinsic membrane glycoproteins in biological systems. As part of the characterization of this preparation, the surface orientation of the carbohydrates of rhodopsin, assembled from purified bovine rhodopsin and egg phosphatidylcholine was examined, and is the topic of this report. The major tool used in these studies was the interaction with the carbohydrate-specific reagents, plant lectins. Two techniques were used: lectin-mediated aggregation of the liposomes, as measured by light scattering; the binding of 125I-labeled succinylated concanavalin A, and Scatchard analysis as a measure of affinity. The preparation most extensively examined had a mole ratio of rhodopsin:phospholipid of 1:100. Among a variety of lectins which were examined, only concanavalin A, succinylated concanavalin A, and wheat germ agglutinin were able to mediate the aggregation of rhodopsin-containing liposomes, as expected. The aggregation with concanavalin A was prevented by the presence of sugars having the alpha-D-glucopyranosyl configuration, and that brought about with wheat germ agglutinin, by N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc). In addition, the aggregation with concanavalin A was reversed with methyl alpha-D-mannoside, and with wheat germ agglutinin, by GlcNAc, suggesting that membrane fusion did not take place. On a molar basis, wheat germ agglutinin brought about a greatly reduced extent of aggregation as compared to concanavalin A, suggesting the relative inaccessibility of GlcNAc residues in the liposomes as compared to mannose. The initial rate of the aggregation, however, were similar with either lectin. The first-order rate constants were unaffected by wide variation in the concentrations of concanavalin A and wheat germ agglutinin, and by variation in the mole ratios of rhodopsin in the liposomes from 0.2 to 19 moles per 100 moles of egg lecithin. Rhodopsin-liposomes were also prepared from a total lipid extract of rod outer segments instead of egg lecithin. Similar kinetic properties were exhibited by this preparation as were obtained with the liposome prepared with the purified phospholipid. Scatchard analysis of the binding of 125I-labeled succinylated concanavalin A by rhodopsin liposomes indicated the presence of a single class of binding site as the preferred fit, with an apparent Kd of 2.8 X 10(-7) M. The binding was destroyed or extensively interfered with by trypsinization and by periodate treatment.     

Surface properties of monomolecular films of oxidized and reduced cytochrome c and f.

The surface properties of monomolecular films of oxidized and reduced cytochromes f and c were measured at an air-water interface. Area/molecular (A) and surface potential (deltaV) for oxidized and reduced forms of the cytochromes were measured as a function of pH. Oxidized cyt f has a maximum for both A and deltaV at pH 7.5. At a surface pressure of 6 dyn/cm the maximum A equals 2600 plus or minus 50 A2 and the maximum deltaV equals 200 plus or minus 10 mV. Reduced cyt f as a function of pH has a minimum value for both A (2200 A2) and deltaV (95 mV). Oxidized cyt c as a function of pH has minima for A (140 A2) and deltaV (188 mV) at pH 7.0 and 7.3, respectively. On the other hand, reduced cyt has maximum values for A (220 A2) and deltaV (260 mV) at pH 7.0 and 7.3, respectively.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of 2-aminothiazoles and their amide derivatives on human adenosine receptors. Lack of effect of 2-aminothiazoles as allosteric enhancers

A number of 2-aminothiazoles (2a-e) and their amide derivatives (4-10) were prepared. The 2-aminothiazoles themselves were tested as allosteric enhancers of agonist binding to human adenosine A(1) receptors. In a variety of experimental set-ups the compounds did not show any such effect, in contrast to earlier findings by another research group. Subsequently the 2-aminothiazoles were used as intermediates in the synthesis of a number of amide derivatives of either aromatic (4-6) or aliphatic nature (7-10). Some of the compounds emerged as moderately active antagonists on human adenosine A(1) and/or A(2A) receptors with lower or negligible potency at adenosine A(3) receptors.     

Molecular and structural analysis of electrophoretic variants of soybean seed storage proteins

Soybean (Glycine max L.) storage proteins are composed mainly of two major components, beta-conglycinin and glycinin. Electrophoretic variants of the beta subunit of beta-conglycinin and the A3 polypeptide of glycinin were detected on SDS-PAGE, and designated them as beta* and A3*, respectively. beta* and A3* exhibited higher and lower mobilities, respectively, than the common beta subunit and A3 polypeptide. The N-terminal nine and 10 amino acid sequences of beta* and A3* were completely identical to the previously reported sequences of the beta subunit and the A3 polypeptide, respectively. Analysis using concanavalin A-horseradish peroxidase and treatment with N-glycosidase indicated that glycans were not responsible for the difference in electrophoretic mobility of beta* or A3*. Furthermore, five clones of beta* or beta and three clones of A3*, respectively, were sequenced but we could not detect deletions and insertions except for a single or a few amino acid substitutions as compared with the common beta subunit and A3 polypeptide. These results indicate that a single or a few amino acid substitution affects the electrophoretic mobilities of beta* and A3*.     

Change of Mating Type in an EU1 Lineage Isolate of Phytophthora ramorum

All Phytophthora ramorum EU1 lineage isolates tested are of A1 mating type, except for three rare isolates from 2002 to 2003 from Belgium, which were originally assigned the A2 mating type. In one of these isolates (2338), a switch from A2 to A1 mating type was observed in 2006. This observation initiated a larger study in which all cultures and subcultures of the original three EU1 A2 isolates, maintained in three laboratories under different storage conditions, were checked for mating type change. The A2 to A1 mating type switch was observed in four of seven independently maintained isolates that were derived from isolate 2338 in two laboratories, using different transfer regimes and storage conditions. Following the mating type switch to A1 in these four derived isolates, no reversion back to A2 mating was observed, even after up to 5 years of additional isolate maintenance and several more subculturing events. The three other isolates that were derived from isolate 2338 as well as the other EU1 A2 isolates collected in 2002 and 2003 and stored in the same conditions did not display such mating type change. The potential causes of the mating type conversions as well as their epidemiological implications are discussed.