Synthesis of a coumarin based fluorescent amino acid

L-2-amino-3-(6,7-dimethoxy-4-coumaryl)-propionic acid (L-Adp), as a non-proteinogenic fluorescent amino acid has been synthesized by a highly stereoselective routine (>99.5%). This fluorescent amino acid, as fluorophore-quencher pair, may be used to study peptide assays. For enantiomeric excess determination, the racemic D-Adp (D-2-amino-3-(6,7-dimethoxy-4-coumaryl)-propionic acid) has also been synthesized.     

Fractionation of a hyaluronic acid preparation in a density gradient: The isolation and identification of a chondroitin sulphate

1. Following the suggestion of Nichol, Ogston & Preston (1967) that hyaluronic acid, prepared by filtration from ox synovial fluid, contains a component of high density, such material has been detected and isolated by equilibrium sedimentation in a density gradient of caesium chloride. 2. This material (fraction III) has been characterized as a chondroitin sulphate-protein complex of average molecular weight about 250000. Its amino acid pattern is characteristic of such complexes present in cartilage. It contains a proportion of glucosamine (as well as galactosamine); this is not due to contamination with hyaluronic acid. 3. Preliminary findings on fraction I (low density) and fraction II (intermediate density) suggest that these consist chiefly of protein and hyaluronic acid respectively.     

Abnormal metabolites of isoleucine in a patient with propionyl-CoA carboxylase deficiency

A number of previously unrecognized abnormal metabolites have been identified and quantitated in the urine of a patient with an inherited deficiency of propionyl-CoA carboxylase. These included the isoleucine metabolites 2-methyl-3-hydroxybutyric acid and 2-methylacetoacetic acid. These isomers 3-hydroxyvaleric acid and 3-oxovaleric acid were found, which may be products of the condensation of propionyl-CoA with acetyl-CoA catalyzed by 3-oxoacyl-CoA thiolases. Following a load of isoleucine, 2-methylbutyrylglycine was identified. This metabolite has not previously been observed in man.     

Synthesis of all-cis-1,3-diacylcyclopentane-1,2,3-triol-2-phosphate via acyl group migration in a cyclic diglyceride analog.

The acid-catalyzed isomerization of the diglyceride analog (1,2,3/0)-1,2-dipalmitoylcyclopentane-1,2,3-triol has been used to generate syn-syn-1,3-diacyl-cyclopentane-1,2,3-triol, a required intermediate in the synthesis of a symmetrical all-cis-1,2,3/0-2P cyclopentanoid phosphatidic acid analog. The all-cis cyclo-phosphatidic acid analog has therefore been obtained in the free acid form and as the diphenyl ester, dimethyl ester, and dipotassium salt derivatives. The compounds have been characterized by microanalysis and spectroscopic methods. The 1,2,3/0-2P analog is now available for comparative studies with the corresponding all-trans cyclophosphatidic acid (1,3/2-2P).     

2-Acetamidoglucal,a new metabolite isolated from the urine of a patient with sialuria

A new metabolite, namely 2-acetamidoglucal, has been found in the urine of a patient with sialuria in addition to the metabolites N-acetylneuraminic acid, N-acetylmannosamine, N-acetylglucosamine and N-deoxy-2,3-dehydro-Nacetylneuraminic acid reported earlier. The structure has been identified by mass spectrometry and 360 MHz proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and verified by synthesis. All accumulated compounds fit into the metabolic pathway for the biosynthesis of CMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid. Sialuria is discussed in terms of a failure of regulation of UDP-N-acetyl-glucosamine 2-epimerase.     

Amino acid incorporation in a cell-free system derived from rat liver studied with the aid of selenodiglutathione

Selenodiglutathione (GSSeSG), a potent inhibitor of elongation factor 2 (EF2) has been used to study amino acid incorporation in a rat liver cell-free system. While translocation of the ribosomes was inhibited by GSSeSG, ribosomes with a free acceptor site were still capable of incorporating one amino acid residue. From this the average number of amino acids incorporated per ribosomes was calculated to be 2--5. In this respect virtually no difference has been observed between ribosomes present on small or large aggregates. The time required for one translocation by all active ribosomes, and the time required for the incorporation of one amino acid (starting with aminoacyl-tRNA or amino acids) has also been determined. By incubation under conditions for amino acid incorporation, part of the ribosomes were completely inactivated whereas the rest remained as active as at the start of the incubation.     

Synthesis of a coumarin based fluorescent amino acid

Summary l-2-amino-3-(6,7-dimethoxy-4-coumaryl)-propionic acid (l-Adp), as a non-proteinogenic fluorescent amino acid has been synthesized by a highly stereoselective routine (>99.5%). This fluorescent amino acid, as fluorophorequencher pair, may be used to study peptide assays. For enantiomeric excess determination, the racemicdl-Adp (dl-2-amino-3-(6,7-dimethoxy-4-coumaryl)-propionic acid) has also been synthesized.     

Crocalbin: a new calcium-binding protein that is also a binding protein for crotoxin, a neurotoxic phospholipase A2

Utilizing Marathon-ready cDNA library and a gene-specific primer corresponding to a partial amino acid sequence determined previously, the complete nucleotide sequence for the cDNA of crocalbin, which binds crotoxin (a phospholipase A2) and Ca2+, was obtained by polymerase chain reaction. The open reading frame of the cDNA encodes a novel polypeptide of 315 amino acid residues, including a signal sequence of 19 residues. This protein contains six potential Ca(2+)-binding domains, one N-glycosylation site, and a large amount of acidic amino acid residues. The ability to bind Ca2+ has been ascertained by calcium overlay experiment. Evidenced by sequence similarity in addition, it is concluded that crocalbin is a new member of the reticulocalbin family of calcium-binding proteins.     

Chlorogenic acid in a Nicotiana plumbaginifolia cell suspension

A phenylpropanoid compound has been characterized in a Nicotiana plumbaginifolia cell suspension. This compound has been isolated and purified by semi-preparative reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatography. Its structure has been identified by NMR spectroscopy as 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid, which is chlorogenic acid (CA). The influence of culture conditions on the accumulation of this metabolite by N. plumbaginifolia cell suspensions has been studied. Darkness strongly inhibits the CA accumulation. Moreover, it has been shown that feeding experiments with caffeic acid had a deleterious effect upon the CA content. This one was not influenced by a supplementation with quinic acid.     

Effect of a fulvic acid fraction on the growth of a Pseudomonas from Tjeukemeer (The Netherlands)

In this paper the effect of a fulvic acid fraction on the growth of a Pseudomonas sp. from fresh water is reported. The presence of fulvic acid in the culture medium caused an increase in the cell yield and in the cell yield per μl O₂ taken up by the Pseudomonas. The observed stimulating effect has been explained in terms of co-metabolism of fulvic acid by the Pseudomonas.     

N-Arachidonyl-glycine inhibits the glycine transporter, GLYT2a

N-arachidonyl-glycine is one of a series of N-arachidonyl-amino acids that are derived from arachidonic acid. N-arachidonyl-glycine is produced in a wide range of tissues with greatest abundance in the spinal cord. Here we report that N-arachidonyl-glycine is a reversible and non-competitive inhibitor of glycine transport by GLYT2a, but has little effect on glycine transport by GLYT1b or gamma-amino butyric acid transport by GAT1. It has previously been reported that the activity of GLYT2a is down-regulated by protein kinase C and therefore we investigated whether the actions of N-arachidonyl-glycine on GLYT2a are mediated by second messenger systems that lead to the activation of protein kinase C. However, the protein kinase C inhibitor, staurosporine, had no effect on the actions of N-arachidonyl-glycine on GLYT2a. Thus, the actions of N-arachidonyl-glycine are likely to be mediated by a direct interaction with the transporter. We have further defined the pharmacophore by investigating the actions of other N-arachidonyl amino acids as well as the closely related compounds arachidonic acid, anandamide and R1-methanandamide. Arachidonic acid, anandamide and R1-methanandamide have no effect on glycine transport, but N-arachidonyl-l-alanine has similar efficacy at GLYT2a to N-arachidonyl-glycine, and N-arachidonyl-gamma-amino butyric acid is less efficacious. These observations define a novel recognition site for the N-arachidonyl amino acids.     

Bioconversion of cinnamic Acid to acetophenone by a pseudomonad: microbial production of a natural flavor compound

A mutant derivative of a novel pseudomonad isolated from the soil accumulated acetophenone when supplied with cinnamic acid. The microorganism has been identified as an unclassified Pseudomonas sp., similar to Pseudomonas acidovorans. Mass spectrum analysis of the product acetophenone derived from catabolism of cinnamic acid in the presence of O(2) or H(2)O supported the conclusion that cinnamic acid degradation is initiated by addition of water to the double bond of the side chain, followed by dehydrogenation to generate 3-keto-3-phenylpropionic acid. The intermediate 3-keto-3-phenylpropionic acid is accumulated in cultures of the mutant during active cinnamic acid catabolism. However, this intermediate is unstable so a portion of it spontaneously decarboxylates to form acetophenone. Neither 3-keto-3-phenylpropionic acid nor acetophenone is a precedented intermediate in cinnamic acid degradation. Isolation of the novel strain and mutant provide the rudiments for a process to produce natural acetophenone by biotransformation of natural cinnamic acid.     

A fractionation of the histones of group F2a from calf thymus

1. The calf-thymus histone group F2a has been separated into two subfractions by stepwise precipitation with acetone from acid solution. 2. Carboxymethyl-cellulose and dextran-gel column chromatography and a method involving dialysis against ethanol have also given the subfractions, but the acetone–hydrochloric acid method has proved to be the most practicable. 3. The two subfractions differ significantly in their amino acid composition and in the pattern of peptides obtained by tryptic digestion. Both fractions have a very low content of N-terminal amino acids and contain acetyl groups.     

Glutamic acid 274 is the nucleophile in the active site of a "retaining" exoglucanase from Cellulomonas fimi.

In addition to its known substrate activity with p-nitrophenyl beta-cellobioside, the exoglucanase from Cellulomonas fimi has been shown to utilize substituted phenyl beta-glucosides as substrates, of which the best is 2',4'-dinitrophenyl beta-D-glucopyranoside. The enzyme can be inactivated by treatment with 2',4'-dinitrophenyl 2-deoxy-2-fluoro-beta-D-glucopyranoside, by trapping of the covalent intermediate in catalysis, as has been shown for a beta-glucosidase (Withers, S.G., and Street, I.P. (1988) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 110, 8551-8553). The intermediate formed is stable but can undergo turnover in the presence of cellobiose, reactivating the enzyme by transglycosylation. Using a tritium-labeled inactivator it has been possible to isolate and sequence a radiolabeled peptide from this enzyme, and the active site nucleophile has been identified as glutamic acid residue 274. This glutamic acid residue and its sequentially proximal amino acids are absolutely conserved in the homologous family F of cellulases.     

The S protein of bovine coronavirus is a hemagglutinin recognizing 9-O-acetylated sialic acid as a receptor determinant.

The S protein of bovine coronavirus (BCV) has been isolated from the viral membrane and purified by gradient centrifugation. Purified S protein was identified as a viral hemagglutinin. Inactivation of the cellular receptors by sialate 9-O-acetylesterase and generation of receptors by sialylation of erythrocytes with N-acetyl-9-O-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5,9Ac2) indicate that S protein recognizes 9-O-acetylated sialic acid as a receptor determinant as has been shown previously for intact virions. The second glycoprotein of BCV, HE, which has been thought previously to be responsible for the hemagglutinating activity of BCV, is a less efficient hemagglutinin; it agglutinates mouse and rat erythrocytes, but in contrast to S protein, it is unable to agglutinate chicken erythrocytes, which contain a lower level of Neu5,9Ac2 on their surface. S protein is proposed to be responsible for the primary attachment of virus to cell surface. S protein is proposed to be responsible for the primary attachement of virus to cell surface receptors. The potential of S protein as a probe for the detection of Neu5,9Ac2-containing glycoconjugates is demonstrated.     

A method for the selective extraction of histone fractions f2(a)1 and f2(a)2 from calf thymus deoxyribonucleoprotein at pH7

1. A new method has been developed for the specific extraction of histone fraction f2(a) from calf thymus deoxyribonucleoprotein at pH7 by using a mixture of ethanol and guanidinium chloride. 2. Fraction f2(a) has been separated into the subfractions f2(a)1 and f2(a)2 by acetone precipitation from acid solution, and at pH7. 3. Modifications of existing electrophoretic methods are described that enable these fractions to be more easily characterized.     

Preparation and application of O-amino-serine, Ams, a new building block in chemoselective ligation chemistry.

The non-codable amino acid O-amino-serine, Ams, has been prepared in both L- and D-forms as the orthogonally protected derivative, Fmoc-Ams(Boc)-OH (1 and 2). This new amino acid derivative is useful for chemoselective ligations. Under acidic conditions and in the presence of all other common amino acid functionalities, the oxyamine function selectively forms oxime linkages with aldehydes. The Ams residue has been incorporated into both ends of the peptide sequence Asp-Leu-Trp-Gln-Lys using standard SPPS. The deprotected peptide has been used for chemical ligation to afford a peptide dimer as well as a glycopeptide. Ams racemization was found to be negligible, as monitored by HPLC separation of Ams dipeptide diastereomers.     

Mouse immunoglobulin genes: a bacterial plasmid containing the entire coding sequence for a pre-gamma 2a heavy chain

A DNA sequence complementary to the entire coding part of a mouse gamma 2a immunoglobulin heavy chain mRNA isolated from a myeloma producing a levan binding protein (UPC 10), has been cloned in the PstI site of pBR 322. Transformants containing sequences complementary to purified gamma 2a heavy chain mRNA were selected. One transformant, pG2a-10-21, containing a 1750 nucleotide insert, has been characterized by hybrid-arrested translation and purification of gamma 2a heavy chain mRNA on DNA-DBM cellulose filters. Restriction enzyme analysis and partial sequencing demonstrate that the pG2a-10-21 contains the complete structural sequence for the gamma 2a heavy chain and predicts the sequence of a 18 amino acid hydrophobic amino terminal extra piece segment.     

Isolation of 2-hydroxycarboxylic acids with a boronate affinity gel

Boric acid has been known to make a complex with 2-hydroxycarboxylic acids. Based on this principle, we have developed a new method for isolation of vanillylmandelic acid, p-hydroxymandelic acid, vanillyllactic acid, and p-hydroxyphenyllactic acid in urine. The technique involves two steps: extraction of lipophilic compounds from urine with n-butanol and selective isolation of 2-hydroxy acids in the n-butanol phase on a phenylboronate gel column. 2-Hydroxy acids were eluted from the column with 1.5 ml of 2% acetyl chloride in methanol with the recoveries of ca. 70%. According to analysis of urinary extract by gas chromatography--mass spectrometry, the mean excretion rates of the above four compounds in 12 healthy subjects were 3.68, 1.93, 0.091, and 1.08 mg/day, respectively.     

Peroxidatic oxidation of benzo[a]pyrene and prostaglandin biosynthesis.

The arachidonic acid dependent oxidation of benzo[a]pyrene to a mixture of 3,6-, 1,6-, and 6,12-quinones has been studied by using enzyme preparations from sheep seminal vesicles. Maximal oxidation is observed at 100 microM benzo[a]pyrene and 150 microM arachidonic acid. The arachidonic acid dependent oxidation is peroxidatic and utilizes prostaglandin G2 (PGG2), generated in situ from arachidonate, as the hydroperoxide substrate. 15-Hydroperoxy-5,8,11,13-eicosatetraenoic acid is equivalent to PGG2 as a hydroperoxide substrate, but hydrogen peroxide, cumene hydroperoxide, and tert-butyl hydroperoxide are much poorer substrates. Arachidonic acid dependent benzo[a]pyrene oxidation by microsomal and solubilized enzyme preparations is markedly.