Comparative distribution of glutamyl and aspartyl aminopeptidase activities in mouse organs.

To evaluate the functional role of glutamyl and aspartyl aminopeptidases, their soluble and membrane-bound activities were measured simultaneously in several tissues of normal mice using arylamide derivatives as substrates. Although the soluble aspartyl aminopeptidase activity showed its highest levels in the testicle, the rest of the activities presented their highest levels in the kidney. Different patterns of distribution were observed for glutamyl and aspartyl aminopeptidase activities and also for soluble and membrane-bound aspartyl aminopeptidase activities. However no major differences were observed between soluble and membrane-bound glutamyl aminopeptidase activities. This unequal distribution suggests that the use of arylamide derivatives as substrates is a sensitive method that distinguishes between these enzymatic activities. The results also suggest different functions for soluble and membrane-bound aspartyl aminopeptidase activities, and for glutamyl and aspartyl aminopeptidase activities.     

Reduced susceptibility to waterlogging together with high-light stress is related to increases in superoxide dismutase and catalase activities in sweet potato

We investigated the changes in antioxidative enzyme activities of two sweet potato cultivars under waterlogging and high-light conditions in the growth chamber. The activities of antioxidative enzymes were measured from leaf crude extract of sweet potato during the first five days of the treatments. Activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase were consistently increased in Taoyuan 1 sweet potato over time under waterlogging and high-light conditions. However, decreases in both superoxide dismutase and catalase activities were observed for cultivar Yongtsai under waterlogging and high-light conditions. Waterlogging, together with high-light intensity, impairs superoxide dismutase and catalase activities in the cultivar Yongtsai indicating its greater susceptibility to waterlogging and high-light stress. In contrast, the increase in activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase in Taoyuan 1 indicated its greater ability to detoxify reactive oxygen species during the treatment and ensured its reduced susceptibility to waterlogging and high-light stress. The activities of peroxidase may be inactivated by high-light treatment and, therefore, may not be associated with tolerance of sweet potato plants to waterlogging and high-light stress. Differences in susceptibility to waterlogging and high-light conditions in the leafy vegetable Yongtsai and storage root Taoyuan 1 are discussed.     

The Gastrointestinal Tract Metabolism and Pharmacological Activities of Grosvenorine,a Major and Characteristic Flavonoid in the Fruits of Siraitia grosvenorii

Grosvenorine is the major flavonoid compound of the fruits of Siraitia grosvenorii (Swingle ) C. Jeffrey , a medical plant endemic to China. In the present study, for the first time, the grosvenorine metabolism in an in vitro simulated human gastrointestinal tract (including artificial gastric juice, artificial intestinal juice and intestinal flora), as well as its pharmacological activities (including anti‐complement, antibacterial and antioxidant activities), was investigated. The results showed that grosvenorine was metabolized by human intestinal flora; its four metabolites were isolated by semi‐preparative HPLC and identified by NMR as kaempferitrin, afzelin, α‐rhamnoisorobin, and kaempferol. Further pharmacological evaluation showed that grosvenorine exhibited good antibacterial and antioxidant activities, with its metabolites possessing more potent activities. Although grosvenorine did not present obvious anticomplement activity, its metabolites showed interesting activities. This study revealed that intestinal bacteria play an important role in the gastrointestinal metabolism of grosvenorine and significantly affect its pharmacological activities.     

Expiratory neural activities in gasping

The purpose was to characterize expiratory-related neural activities in eupnea and gasping. In decerebrate and vagotomized cats, activities were recorded from the phrenic nerve, spinal intercostal and abdominal nerves, and recurrent laryngeal nerve and its branches. Neural inspiration was defined by phrenic discharge. The spinal and laryngeal nerves discharged in inspiration, expiration, or during both phases. Gasping was induced by freezing the brain stem at the pontomedullary junction, exposure to asphyxia or anoxia, or ligation of the basilar artery and its branches. In gasping, peak phrenic activity typically increased as did inspiratory-related activities of laryngeal and spinal nerves. Expiratory activities were greatly reduced in gasping, with some activities being completely eliminated. Reductions of expiratory activity were more prominent for spinal than laryngeal nerves. Similar results were obtained in cats having intact vagi that were ventilated with a servo-respirator so that lung inflation paralleled phrenic activity. The concept that gasping differs fundamentally form other ventilatory patterns is discussed.     

Biological analysis of the deletion mutants of Staphylococcal enterotoxin C2

To investigate the functional domains involved in the biological activity of staphylococcal enterotoxin (SEC2), a series of SEC2 mutants were constructed. Deletion of the last 77 amino acids at the C-terminus of SEC2 did not affect its native superantigen and fever activities, and further removal of the C-terminal residues reduced SEC2 activities significantly. On the other hand, the mutants lacking 18 or more N-terminal residues severely impaired superantigen activity. These data indicated that the functional regions for the biological activities of SEC2 were confined to N-terminal domain, further implied that the proper three-dimensional structure of SEC2 is not needed for its biological activities. Our results deliver valuable information that it is possible to design new SEC2 immunotherapeutic agents which have the superantigen activity and low molecular weight for permeability.     

Synthesis and biological activities of 4-chloroindole-3-acetic acid and its esters

4-Chloroindole-3-acetic acid (4-Cl-IAA) and its esters were synthesized from 2-chloro-6-nitrotoluene as the starting material. The biological activities of 4-CI-IAA and its esters were determined by four bioassays. Except for the tert-butyl ester, 4-Cl-IAA and its esters had stronger elongation activity toward Avena coleoptiles than had indole-3-acetic acid. The biological activities of the methyl, ethyl and allyl esters were as strong as the activity of the free acid. All the esters, except for the tert-butyl, inhibited Chinese cabbage hypocotyl growth more than the free acid did, and all the esters induced severe swelling and formation of numerous lateral roots in black gram seedlings even at a low concentration. Furthermore, adventitious root formation was strongly promoted in Serissa japonica cuttings by all the esters. The root formation-promoting activities of the ethyl and allyl esters were about three times the value for indole-3-butyric acid which is used to promote and accelerate root formation in plant cuttings.     

低氧胁迫下黄瓜根系细胞壁结合态多胺氧化酶活性变化及测定方法的确立

提出了细胞壁上PAO检测方法,并对低氧胁迫下黄瓜根系细胞壁结合态PAO的灵敏性、pH值范围、底物依赖性以及取样部位进行了测定。结果表明,检测时取根中部或基部为好,提取液pH值为6．5,启动底物为Spm或Put Spd Spm。低氧处理后PAO活性一开始下降,在第3天时处于上升趋势,第8天达最大值,此后虽下降,但一直高于对照,与游离态PAO活性变化趋势一致,但活性要高10倍以上,表明PAO活性绝大部分定位于细胞壁上。     

Revertant analysis of a temperature-sensitive mutant of Newcastle disease virus with defective glycoproteins: implication of the fusion glycoprotein in cell killing and isolation of a neuraminidase-deficient hemagglutinating virus

Biological and molecular properties of a temperature-sensitive mutant (C1) of Newcastle disease virus and its revertants were analyzed. C1 exhibited three temperature-sensitive alterations (plaque formation, virion assembly, and cytopathogenicity) and several defects which were also present at the permissive temperature. C1 virions contained low amounts of hemagglutinin-neuraminidase glycopeptides and consequently were deficient in hemagglutinating and neuraminidase activities. These virions also contained defective fusion glycoproteins which rendered them poorly hemolytic and slow to penetrate cultured chicken embryo cells. The biological activities of the membrane glycoproteins were recovered sequentially in a series of plaque-forming revertants. The coreversion of hemolysis, membrane-penetrating activities, and cytopathogenicity in the first-step revertant (S1) suggested that fusion glycoproteins were major contributors to cellular destruction. This revertant also provided evidence of a role for fusion glycoproteins in virion assembly. From S1 we isolated a large-plaque-forming revertant (L1) that assembled wild-type amounts of biologically active hemagglutinin-neuraminidase glycoproteins into virions. Although it was normal for hemagglutination, L1 had less than 3% of the neuraminidase activity of the wild type, demonstrating that these two activities can be uncoupled genetically. The neuraminidase deficiency of L1 did not impair its virulence in ovo or its reproduction in cultured cells.     

Role of the Nuclease Activities Encoded by Herpes Simplex Virus 1 UL12 in Viral Replication and Neurovirulence

Enzyme-dead mutations in the herpes simplex virus 1 UL12 gene that abolished its endo- and exonuclease activities only slightly reduced viral replication in cell cultures. However, the UL12 null mutation significantly reduced viral replication, suggesting that a UL12 function(s) unrelated to its nuclease activities played a major role in viral replication. In contrast, the enzyme-dead mutations significantly reduced viral neurovirulence in mice, suggesting that UL12 nuclease activities were critical for viral pathogenesis in vivo.     

Role of unique basic residues in cytotoxic, antibacterial and antiparasitic activities of human eosinophil cationic protein

Eosinophil granule proteins, eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) and eosinophil-derived neurotoxin are members of the RNase A superfamily, which play a crucial role in host defense against various pathogens as they are endowed with several biological activities. Some of the biological activities possessed by ECP have been attributed to its strong basic character. In the current study, we have investigated the role of five unique basic residues, Arg22, Arg34, Arg61, Arg77 and His64 of ECP in its catalytic, cytotoxic, antibacterial and antiparasitic activities. These residues were changed to alanine to generate single and double mutants. None of the selected residues was found to be involved in the RNase activity of ECP. The substitution of all five residues individually was detrimental for the cytotoxic, antibacterial and antiparasitic activities of ECP; however, mutation of Arg22 and Arg34 resulted in the most significant effects. The double mutants also had reduced biological activities. All ECP mutants that had significantly reduced toxicity also had reduced membrane destabilization activity. Our study demonstrates that Arg22, Arg34, Arg61, Arg77 and His64 of ECP are crucial for its membrane destabilization activity, which appears to be the underlying mechanism of its cytotoxic, antibacterial and antiparasitic activities.     

Comparative effects of two sulfhydryl reagents on the activities of a multifunctional red cell enzyme: bisphosphoglycerate mutase

The effects of two sulfhydryl reagents on the three activities of bisphosphoglycerate mutase have been compared. Under N-ethylmaleimide treatment all the activities were inhibited except for 60% of the non-stimulated phosphatase. With iodoacetamide the mutase and the stimulated-phosphatase activities were completely inhibited whereas the non-stimulated phosphatase and 60% of the synthase activities were unaffected. 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate protected all the activities of the enzyme against inactivation by the two sulfhydryl reagents whereas 3-phosphoglycerate protected them only against iodoacetamide. 2-phosphoglycolate had an identical effect to that of 3-phosphoglycerate except for its effect on the non-stimulated phosphatase activity, which was slightly enhanced under N-ethylmaleimide treatment.     

Synthesis and biological activities evaluation of sanjuanolide and its analogues

Sanjuanolide, psorachalcone A and its seven new analogues were synthesized via a combinatorial strategy by aldol reaction. In order to investigate the effect between electron density in π-conjugated systems and biological activities, several electron-withdrawing and electron-donating groups were introduced at C-4 and the phenolic hydroxyl groups of sanjuanolide. The two natural products and its seven new analogues were investigated for their inhibitory effects against five cancer cell lines. Moreover, the hydroxyisoprenyl group may be important to maintain the biological activities of sanjuanolide.     

肉苁蓉和寄主梭梭体内可溶性糖分积累与蔗糖代谢相关酶活性研究

通过测定不同发育时期肉苁蓉和寄主梭梭体内主要糖类物质含量和蔗糖代谢相关酶活性,以研究寄生植物与寄主植物的糖代谢及其关系。结果表明:未寄生肉苁蓉的梭梭以积累葡萄糖为主,而寄生肉苁蓉的梭梭在夏季休眠期以积累葡萄糖为主,进入秋季旺盛生长期时以积累蔗糖为主。肉苁蓉的糖分积累与梭梭不同,己糖含量约占可溶性总糖的62.45%,而蔗糖仅为可溶性总糖的4.98%,故肉苁蓉为己糖积累型。寄主梭梭同化枝内蔗糖磷酸合成酶活性较转化酶活性和蔗糖合成酶活性低,其中寄生肉苁蓉的梭梭的分解酶类活性高于未寄生肉苁蓉的梭梭。肉苁蓉体内转化酶活性较低,而蔗糖合成酶和蔗糖磷酸合成酶活性较高,且蔗糖合成酶活性高于蔗糖磷酸合成酶活性,表现为肉苁蓉中的分解酶类活性高于合成酶类活性,较高的分解酶类活性促进了蔗糖的分解,从而促进了糖分由寄主梭梭向肉苁蓉的不断转移。总体来看,肉苁蓉和寄主梭梭体内糖分的代谢主要以蔗糖合成酶为主,其它2种酶为辅协同参与调控。     

The composition and sequence specificity of Pro-Ala-Lys-OH for the thrombolytic activities of P6A and related oligopeptides

The in vitro and in vivo thrombolytic activities of Ala-Arg-Pro-Ala-Lys-OH, its analogs and the related peptides were assayed. The results indicate that when (5)Lys of Ala-Arg-Pro-Ala-Lys-OH is changed into (5)Arg, and (3)Lys of Pro-Ala-Lys-OH is changed into (3)Arg the thrombolytic activities are collapsed; when Pro-Ala-Lys-OH is changed into Ala-Pro-Lys-OH, and Ala-Arg-Pro-Ala-Lys-OH is changed into Ala-Arg-Ala-Pro-Lys-OH the thrombolytic activities are also collapsed; when (5)Lys of Ala-Arg-Pro-Ala-Lys-OH is changed into (5)nLeu the thrombolytic activities are again collapsed. All of the results indicate that for the thrombolytic activities of Ala-Arg-Pro-Ala-Lys-OH and the related peptides Pro-Ala-Lys-OH exhibits either amino acid composition specificity or sequence specificity. The composition and sequence specificity of Pro-Ala-Lys-OH reflects its rule as the pharmacophore of P6A and the related peptides.     

不同海带品系抗氧化系统活性与耐热性的相关性研究

以山东沿海广泛培育的两个海带品系耐高温海带901(简称901)和热敏感海带荣成1号(简称RC)为实验材料,研究不同温度条件下其抗氧化系统活性与耐热性状的相关性.结果表明,常温条件下(10℃)901与RC抗氧化系统的基础活性与耐热性状间无显著相关.高温胁迫条件下(18℃)RC体内的活性氧(reactive oxygen species,ROS)含量快速升高,而901的ROS在整个胁迫过程中变化不大,说明ROS可能对高温氧化胁迫具有重要意义.RC的抗氧化系统对高温胁迫比901敏感,表现为出现活性有效抑制的时间和幅度都强于901.超氧化物歧化酶、谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶和抗坏血酸和维生素E可能在保护海带细胞免受高温胁迫方面具有重要作用.901的叶绿素对高温胁迫的响应明显滞后于RC,叶绿素含量的半伤害时间可作为判定幼苗期901和RC耐热性的灵敏指标.导致不同品系海带耐热性差异的并非其抗氧化系统基础活性的高低,而是该系统对高温胁迫的应激性和敏感性差异.     

Extracellular activity in Cryptococcus neoformans strains isolated from AIDS patients and from environmental sources

Nineteen Cryptococcus neoformans strains isolated from AIDS patients and 16 from bird droppings were tested for their extracellular activity. Typical enzymatic activity that was different from other medically important yeasts was found. The results obtained may indicate that there are new extracellular enzymatic activities that imply a relationship between C. neoformans and its virulence. A correlation among the different enzymatic activities was also investigated and according to the results obtained no relationship was observed among any of the recorded extracellular enzymatic activities. Research on C. neoformans extracellular enzymatic activity is useful not only to better understand its metabolism but in particular to establish a possible relationship between its virulence and pathogenicity.     

Enzymology of the beta-ketoadipate pathway in Trichosporon cutaneum.

Cell extracts were prepared from Trichosporon cutaneum grown with phenol or p-cresol, and activities were assayed for enzymes catalyzing conversion of these two carbon sources into 3-ketoadipate (beta-ketoadipate) and 3-keto-4-methyladipate, respectively. When activities of each enzyme were expressed as a ratio, the rate for methyl-substituted substrate being divided by that for the unsubstituted substrate, it was apparent that p-cresol-grown cells elaborated pairs of enzymes for hydroxylation, dioxygenation, and delactonization. One enzyme of each pair was more active against its methyl-substituted substrate, and the other was more active against its unsubstituted substrate. Column chromatography was used to separate two hydroxylase activities and also 1,2-dioxygenase activities; the catechol 1,2-dioxygenases were further purified to electrophoretic homogeneity. Extracts of phenol-grown cells contained only those enzymes in this group that were more active against unsubstituted substrates. In contrast, whether cells were grown with phenol or p-cresol, only one muconate cycloisomerase (lactonizing enzyme) was elaborated which was more active against 3-methyl-cis,cis-muconate than against cis,cis-muconate; in this respect it differed from a cycloisomerase of another strain of T. cutaneum which has been characterized. The cycloisomerase was purified from both phenol-grown and p-cresol-grown cells, and some characteristics were determined.     

Synthesis and pharmacological activities of xanthone derivatives as alpha-glucosidase inhibitors

Considerable interest has been attracted in xanthone and its derivatives because of their large variety of pharmacological activities. In this project, a series of hydroxylxanthones and their acetoxy and alkoxy derivatives were synthesized and evaluated as alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, aimed at clarifying the structure-activity correlation. The results indicated that these xanthone derivatives were capable of inhibiting in vitro alpha-glucosidase with moderate to good activities. Among them, polyhydroxylxanthones exhibited the highest activities and thus may be exploitable as a lead compound for the development of potent alpha-glucosidase inhibitors.     

Anticoagulant activities of oleanolic acid via inhibition of tissue factor expressions

Oleanolic acid (OA), a triterpenoid known for its anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties, is commonly present in several medicinal plants but its anticoagulant activities have not been studied. Here, the anticoagulant properties of OA were determined by monitoring activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), prothrombin time (PT), fibrin polymerization as well as cell-based thrombin and activated factor X (FXa) generation activities. Data showed OA prolonged aPTT and PT significantly and inhibited thrombin catalyzed fibrin polymerization. In addition, OA inhibited the activities of thrombin and FXa and inhibited the generation of thrombin or FXa in human endothelial cells. OA also inhibited TNF-α-induced tissue factor expression on human endothelial cells. In accordance with these anticoagulant activities, OA showed an anticoagulant effect in vivo. These results indicate that OA possesses antithrombotic activities and suggest that daily consumption of a herb containing OA may be preventing thrombosis in pathological states.     

Synthesis and estrogenic activities of novel 7-thiosubstituted estratriene derivatives

A diastereomerically pure series of 7alpha-thioestratrienes was prepared and evaluated for its affinity for both the human estrogen receptor alpha and the more recently discovered estrogen receptor beta. The functional estrogenic activities of the compounds were measured in a MCF-7 ERE-tk-luciferase assay. The activities and selectivities of the compounds were sensitive to the nature of the thioether side chain.