The amphiphilic membrane glycoproteins of Semliki forest virus are attached to the lipid bilayer by their COOH-terminal ends

The membrane location of the Semliki Forest virus glycoproteins E1, E2 and E3 was studied by protease treatment of (1) virus particles and (2) rough micro somes from cells infected with SF virus2. Protease treatment of virus particles removes all but the membrane-associated segments of the glycoproteins. Analyses of protease-treated SF virus membranes in 15% to 22.5% gradient acrylamide gels demonstrate the presence of three distinct peptide species with apparent molecular weights of 9000, 6000 and 5500. The 9000 and the 5500 molecular weight peptides have been aligned to the COOH-terminal end of E2 and the 6000 molecular weight peptide to the COOH-terminal end of El. The mapping of the peptides was done in a “Dintzis”-type of experiment (Dintzis, 1961) where we labelled the proteins of the virus with a gradient of [³⁵S]methionine increasing towards their COOH-terminal end.Protease treatment of microsomes from cells infected with SF virus removes only those parts of the viral glycoproteins that are transversing the lipid bilayer. Analyses of such treated membranes in sodium dodecyl sulphate-containing gels show that a 3000 molecular weight piece is digested from the COOH-terminal end of p62, the cellular precursor of E2 and E3. The COOH-terminus of p62 is shown to be equivalent to that of E2. These results thus demonstrate that the two amphiphilic membrane proteins of SF virus, E1 and E2 (p62) are attached to the lipid bilayer by their COOH-terminal ends. The COOH-terminal end of p62 (E2) spans the microsomal membrane. The third membrane protein, E3, probably does not interact with membrane lipids but is bound to the virus on E1 and (or) E2.     

Striated muscle twitchin of bivalves has "catchability", the ability to bind thick filaments tightly to thin filaments, representing the catch state

Catch muscles are found in some invertebrates which can maintain high passive tension with little energy expenditure for long periods after their active contraction. Twitchin in the catch muscles has the ability to facilitate the tight binding of thick filaments to thin filaments, which is the structural basis of the catch tension. We defined this ability as catchability and assessed the catchability of twitchins purified from striated muscles of an oyster (Crassostrea gigas) and a scallop (Mimachlamys nobilis), by using an in vitro catch assay where the binding of filaments could be directly visualized under a light microscope. We found that both twitchins had catchability, even though these muscles are not considered to be catch muscles in physiological experiments. In addition, these muscles contained water-soluble factors regulating the binding of the catch, probably protein kinase A and protein phosphatase 2B. These findings suggest that not only bivalve smooth muscles but also striated muscles have a system that regulates their relaxation rate through the catchability of twitchin, at least at the molecular level.     

The locations of the three cysteine residues in the primary structure of the intrinsic segments of band 3 protein,and implications concerning the arrangement of band 3 protein in the bilayer

The intrinsic domains of band 3 protein contain three cysteine residues, one in a 17 kDa middle segment and two in a 35 kDa C-terminal segment. The latter are retained in an 8 kDa fragment produced by chymotrypsin treatment of ghosts. Cleavage of cysteine residues by 2-nitro-5-thiocyanobenzoic acid (NTCB) allows localization of this amino acid in the primary structure of the 8, 17, 35 and 52 (17 plus 35) kDa segments of band 3 protein. The mapping of these residues taken with other information concerning accessibility of various sites at the two sides of the membrane leads to the conclusion that band 3 protein crosses the membrane at least five times, or ten times in a dimer structure. The implications of this conclusion in terms of band 3 protein structure and function are briefly discussed.     

Direct identification of the high and low affinity calcium binding sites of troponin-C

Covalent labelling of the calcium ligands of intact troponin-C (0.1 M KCl, pH 6.0) with [³H] -ethanolamine, at various ratios of calcium to troponin-C followed by analysis of the two separated cleavage products, shows that the first and second calcium binding sites of the sequence are the low affinity sites and that the third and fourth sites are the high affinity or structure defining sites of troponin-C.     

Studies on actin fragments obtained by digestion with thrombin,BNPS-skatole and nitrothiocyanobenzoic acid

We have isolated fragments of actin prepared by thrombic digestion (residues 40–374 [I], and 114–374 [II]), BNPS-skatole cleavage (residues 87–339 [III]) and nitrothiocyanobenzoic acid treatment (residues 10–216 [IV]) using preparative electrophoretic and chromatographic techniques. Analysis of the filament-forming and tropomyosin-binding properties of demonstrably homogeneous fragments revealed that only fragments I and II oculd form F-actin-like filaments after attempted renaturation, and that only fragment I could bind to tropomyosin. These results in addition to our previous studies on actin fragments and chemically-modified intact actin suggest that residues 1–86 and 340–374 are not required for F-actin filament formation, whereas residues 70–86 and/or 340–374 are essential for tropomyosin-binding activity.     

Photoreactions of phosphorothioate and cysteamine-S-phosphate: Photosubstitution and photophosphoryl transfer

The photoreactions of phosphorothioate and cysteamine-S-phosphate were investigated. On irradiation of phosphorothiote a marked change in absorption spectrum was observed. The product migrated in high voltage electrophoresis, with different mobility from that of phosphorothiote and its dimer, or inorganic orthophosphate. It contained phosphare and sulfur in a ratio of 2 : 1, without reducing properties. Therefore it was suggested that the product is either pyrothiophosphate, or a cyclic compound, with similar composition.On irradiation of phosphorothiote in the presence of potential phosphoryl group acceptor, such as glucose or galactose, 25–40% of the phosphoryl group was transferred. The formation of glucose 6-phosphate, or galactose 6-phosphate was observed. The photolysis of cysteamine-S-phosphate gave cysteamine, inorganic orthophosphate and taurine.Under the same conditions of irradiation, inorganic orthophosphate or aminoethanol-O-phosphate were found to be stable.     

Deacylation of carcinogenic 5-nitrofuran derivatives by mammalian tissues

The deacylations of N-[4-(5-nitro-2-furyl)-2-thiazolyl] fonnamide (FANFT), N-[4-(5-nitro-2-furyl)-2-thiazolyl] acetarnide (NFTA) and formic acid 2-[4-(5-nitro-2-furyl)-2-thiazolyl] hydrazide (FNT) by liver, kidney, small intestines and stomach of mouse, rat, hamster and guinea pig were investigated. FANFT was deformylated to 2-amino-4-(5-nitro-2-furyl)thiazole (ANFT). FANFT formamidase activity was higher in the liver and small intestines of mouse, hamster and guinea pig, and small intestines and stomach of rat. There was no detectable FANFT formamidase activity in the stomach of the mouse and hamster. Neither NFTA nor FNT was deacylated by the rodent tissue homogenates studied. It is suggested that (1)4 ANFT is a metabolite of FANFT but not NFTA; (2) 2-hydrazino-4-(5-nitro-2-furyl)thiazole (HNFT) may not be a metabolite of FNT; and (3) the induction of tumors by FANFT, NFTA and FNT may not be due to a common carcinogenic metabolite, although these chemicals demonstrate similar organ specificities in some of these rodents.     

一种方便快速检测蒜素的方法

基于硝基硫代苯甲酸 ( 2 nitro 5 thiobenzoate,NTB)与硫代亚磺酸脂 (Thiosulfinates)反应 ,对蒜素 (allicin)进行检测。一分子allicin与两分子NTB进行反应 ,形成NTB二硫键衍生物 ,通过吸光值 (A₄₁₂ )的测定来计算蒜素 (allicin)含量。     

Mutagenic activity of carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic nitrofurans and of urine of rats fed these compounds

The nitrofurans, 2-(2-furyl)-3-(5-nitro-2-furyl)acrylamide (AF-2), N-[4-(5-nitro-2-furyl)-2-thiazolyl]formamide (FANFT), nitrofurantoin, 5-nitro-2-furoic acid, 5-nitro-2-furamidoxime, 5-nitrofurfurylidene diacetate and the urine of rats fed these compounds, were assayed for mutagenic activity in Salmonella typhimurium strains TA100 and TA100FR1. All the nitrofurans were mutagenic in the order: AF-2 and FANFT > nitrofurantoin > 5-nitro-2-furamidoxime > 5-nitrofurfurylidene diacetate > 5-nitro-2-furoic acid. Strain TA100 was more sensitive than TA100FR1 to the mutagenic influence of these nitrofurans. Only the urine of rats fed AF-2, FANFT and nitrofurantoin had mutagenic activity. Again, TA100 was more sensitive than TA100FR1. The mutagenicity of the urine was not increased by treatment with β-glucuronidase. AF-2, 2-amino-4-(5-nitro-2-furyl)thiazole (deformylated product of FANFT) and nitrofurantoin were excreted in the urine of rats fed these compounds; whereas the other nitrofurans were not excreted.     

Titles of related papers in other sections

Arrhenius plots of rabbit skeletal muscle sarcolemmal Na⁺,K⁺-ATPase contain no temperature breaks. The apparent activation energy (22.8 kcal/mole in the presence of 1 mM MgCl₂ or 15.9 kcal/mole in the presence of 3 mM MgCl₂) does not depend on the Na⁺/K⁺ ratio in the incubation medium, but decreases in the presence of anserine (instead of Tris buffer).     

The estimation of microgram amounts of methionine by reaction with chloramine-T.

Two methods are described for the estimation of microgram amounts of methionine byreaction with chloramine-T. The methionine may either be titrated and the end point determined spectrophotometrically at 246 nm, or it may be estimated colorimetrically from the conversion of nitrothiobenzoate to 5,5′-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (Y. Schecter, Y. Burstein, and A. Patchornik, 1975,Biochemistry14, 4497–4502) by chloramine-T remaining after oxidation of methionine to methionine sulfoxide by a known excess of reagent.     

The reaction of myosin with N-ethylmaleimide in the presence of ADP

Myosin reacted with N-ethylmaleimide in the presence of ADP lost its ability to be activated by actin. Subfragment 1 behaved similarly. About 2 moles of N-ethylmaleimide per mole of Subfragment 1 were required to eliminate actin activation of the Mg²⁺-ATPase activity. At the point at which actin activation was lost the K⁺-EDTA-ATPase activity was also lost, but the Ca²⁺-activated ATPase activity was increased. Kinetic measurements indicated that the labelling with N-ethylmaleimide in the presence of ADP reduced V (the ATPase activity at infinite actin concentration) but did not effect K_app (which is related to the dissociation constant of the actin-Subfragment 1 complex). The Mg²⁺-activated activity of the reacted myosin alone remained unaltered and the ability to bind actin was retained. We propose that the N-ethylmaleimide labelling blocked the actin activation by preventing the accelerated release of hydrolysis products from the myosin.     

The presence of two (Na+ + K+)-ATPase inhibitors in equine muscle ATP: Vanadate and a dithioerythritol-dependent inhibitor

A potent inhibitor of $\text{(Na}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{+ K}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{)-ATPase}$ activity was purified from Sigma equine muscle ATP by cation- and anion-exchange chromatography. The isolated inhibitor was identified by atomic absorption spectroscopy and proton resonance spectroscopy to be an inorganic vanadate. The isolated vanadate and a solution of V₂O₅ inhibit sarcolemma $\text{(Na}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{+ K}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{)-ATPase}$ with an $\text{I}{}_{50}$ of 1 μM in the presence of 1 mM $\text{ethyleneglycol-bis-(β-aminoethylether)}\text{-N,N′-}\text{tetraacetic}$ acid (EGTA), 145 mM NaCl, 6mM MgCl₂, 15 mM KCl and 2 mM synthetic ATP. The potency of the isolated vanadate in increased by free Mg²⁺. The inhibition is half maximally reversed by 250 μM epinephrine. Equine muscle ATP was also found to contain a second $\text{(Na}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{+ K}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{)-ATPase}$ inhibitor which depends on the sulfhydryl-reducing agent dithioerythritol for inhibition. This unknown inhibitor does not depend on free Mg²⁺ and is half maximally reversed by 2 μM epinephrine. Prolonged storage or freeze-thawing of enzyme preparations decreases the susceptibility of the $\text{(Na}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{+ K}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{)-ATPase}$ to this inhibitor. The adrenergic blocking agents, propranolol and phentolamine, do not block the catecholamine reactivation. The inhibitors in equine muscle ATP also inhibit highly purified $\text{(Na}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{+ K}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{)-ATPase}$ from shark rectal gland and eel electroplax. The inhibitors in equine muscle ATP have no effect on the other sarcolemmal ATPases, Mg²⁺-ATPase, Ca²⁺-ATPase and $\text{(Ca}{}^{\mathrm{2+}}\text{+ Mg}{}^{\mathrm{2+}}\text{)-ATPase}$.     

Isolation and identification of urinary metabolites of AF-2 (3-(5-nitro-2-furyl)-2-(2-furyl)acrylamide) in rabbits

After oral administration of AF-2 (3-(5-nitro-2-furyl)-2-(2-furyl)acrylamide) to rabbits, the two unique metabolites, M-I and M-II, were isolated from the urine. M-I, yellow needles of mp 117°, was identified as a new type metabolite of nitrofuran derivative, 2-(β-carboxypropionyl)-3-(5-methylthio-2-furyl) acrylamide by its mass, ir and nmr spectrometries. M-II, yellow solid, appears to be cis-trans isomer of M-I considering from its uv and mass spectral data, and the behavior on tlc.     

Cis-trans isomerization of nitrofuran derivatives by xanthine oxidase

Enzymatic cis-trans isomerization of nitrofuran derivatives was 3-(5-Nitro-2-furyl)-2-(2-furyl)-demonstrated with milk xanthine oxidase. acrylamide (AF-2) and 3-(5-nitro-2-furyl)-2-(5-bromo-2-furyl)acrylamide (NFBFA) were mainly converted from the cis to the trans form by this enzyme supplemented with an electron donor. This enzymatic reaction was further characterized with respect to its cofactor requirements. Finally, a new cis-trans isomerization mechanism, which is based on transfer of a single electron by a nitroreductase such as xanthine oxidase to a nitrofuran derivative to give the anion free radical, was proposed.     

Interaction of oncodazole (R 17934), a new antitumoral drug, with rat brain tubulin.

Oncodazole (R 17934), methyl [5-(2-thienylcarbonyl)-1H-benzimidazol-2-yl] carbamate (I), a new synthetic drug with anti-tumoral activity, inhibits the polymerization of rat brain tubulin $\text{in vitro}$. It has no depolymerizing effect on preformed microtubules $\text{in vitro}$. Binding studies by means of molecular sieving and equilibrium dialysis indicates that the drug binds to purified rat brain tubulin in a mole to mole ratio. Finally the drug competitively inhibits colchicine binding to purified rat brain tubulin. From these results the conclusion may be drawn that oncodazole is a true microtubule inhibitor.     

Studies on the interaction of propranolol with erythrocyte membranes

The interaction of propranolol with erythrocyte membranes at concentrations stabilizing intact erythrocytes against hypotonic hemolysis produced corresponding perturbations in membrane protein and particularly membrane phospholipid components as monitored by increases in the reactivity of membrane amino and sulfhydryl groups towards trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid and 5,5′-dithio-bis-(2-nitro-benzoic acid), respectively. Membrane-propranolol interactions were also analyzed in terms of alterations produced in the kinetic properties of membrane enzymes. These experiments provided evidence that propranolol-induced perturbations were sufficiently generalized as to influence the activity of enzymatic processes associated with both inner and outer membrane surfaces. Configurational changes in membrane phospholipids were implicated in these effects of propranolol, which included alterations in functionally significant membrane-cation interactions. It is suggested that the findings described here may provide a basis for understanding molecular aspects of membrane stabilization in other systems.