RNA polymerase activity in isolated nuclei ofNicotiana sanderae callus: Characteristics and modulation during differentiation

Isolated nuclei from differentiating cultures ofNicotiana sanderae showed increased levels of RNA polymerase activity as compared to the nuclei from callus cultures. The RNA synthetic activity was dependent on nucleotide triphosphates and Mg²⁺ and was destroyed by RNase. Maximum activity was obtained in the presence of 50 mM (NH₄)₂ SO₄ and α-amanitin inhibited 40% and 55% of the activity in the nuclei from callus and differentiating tissue respectively. The nuclei from differentiating tissue elicited a 3-fold increase in RNA polymerase I and a 4-fold augmentation in RNA polymerase II activities.     

Gossypol modulation of nucleotide metabolizing enzymes in the reproductive tract of male rats

The activities of several pivotal nucleotide metabolizing enzymes from the testis and vasal sperm of rats treated for 7 wk with 0, 20 or 30 mg X kg X day gossypol acetic acid were examined. Total testicular lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity increased 40% above control in the highest treatment group examined. However, the specific activity of the testis-specific isozyme of LDH, LDH-C4, decreased to 50 and 20% of control in the 20 and 30 mg X kg X day treatment groups, respectively. Basal soluble adenylate cyclase from a 100,000 X g supernatant of testis homogenate exhibited a 25% decrease in activity only in the 30-mg treatment group. Basal adenylate cyclase activity in the testicular membrane fraction increased 20 to 30% above control in response to gossypol administration. Testis membranes from the 20- and 30-mg treatment group exhibited a 2- and 4-fold greater activation of adenylate cyclase by guanine nucleotides. In vitro dose-response curves showed a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) for inhibition of soluble testicular adenylate cyclase by gossypol of 400 microM in each treatment group. Caudal epididymal sperm adenylate cyclase activity decreased to 25% of control levels in gossypol-treated animals, and the in vitro sensitivity of the enzyme to the inhibitory effects of gossypol increased 4-fold. IC50 values for gossypol inhibition of sperm adenylate cyclase decreased from 200 microM in control animals to 75 and 50 microM in the 20 and 30 mg X kg X day treatment groups, respectively. Cyclic adenosine 3':5' monophosphate phosphodiesterase activity in caudal sperm increased 6-fold in the 20- and 30-mg treatment groups. These results demonstrate that nucleotide metabolizing enzymes in sperm are major targets for the actions of gossypol and provide a possible mechanism for the inhibition of normal sperm function by this compound.     

黄雀发声核团与部分听觉中枢内P物质的分布和性双态比较

用免疫组织化学方法研究P物质在雌雄黄雀发声控制核团和听觉中枢内的分布,结合计算机图像分析仪检测SP免疫阳性细胞和末梢的灰度值,并作雌雄比较。结果如下：1．在发声学习中枢嗅叶X区有大量的SP阳性神经末梢和一些神经细胞。2．在发声控制核团前脑高级发声中枢(HVc)、古纹状体栎核、发声学习中枢新纹状体巨细胞核和丘脑背内侧核外侧部内有许多的SP免疫阳性细胞。3．在发声控制中枢中脑背内侧核和延髓舌下神经核气管鸣管部、听觉中枢丘脑卵圆核的壳区、中脑背外侧核壳区及中脑丘间核等有密集的SP免疫阳性神经末梢和纤维分布;雄性发声中枢内SP的分布比雌性丰富,两者有显著的差异。结果表明：SP的分布在雌雄发声中枢之间存在显著的性双态;SP广泛分布于黄雀发声控制核团和部分听觉中枢内,提示SP可能在发声控制及听觉中枢内具有重要的生理功能。     

Hydrophobic contact between the two epidermal growth factor-like domains of blood coagulation factor IX contributes to enzymatic activity

The three-dimensional structure of activated factor IX comprises multiple contacts between the two epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like domains. One of these is a salt bridge between Glu(78) and Arg(94), which is essential for binding of factor IXa to its cofactor factor VIII and for factor VIII-dependent factor X activation (Christophe, O. D., Lenting, P. J., Kolkman, J. A., Brownlee, G. G., and Mertens, K. (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 222-227). We now addressed the putative hydrophobic contact at the interface between the EGF-like domains. Recombinant factor IX chimeras were constructed in which hydrophobic regions Phe(75)-Phe(77) and Lys(106)-Val(108) were replaced by the corresponding sites of factor X and factor VII. Activated factor IX/factor X chimeras were indistinguishable from normal factor IXa with respect to factor IXa enzymatic activity. In contrast, factor IXa(75-77)/factor VII displayed approximately 2-fold increased factor X activation in the presence of factor VIII, suggesting that residues 75-77 contribute to cofactor-dependent factor X activation. Activation of factor X by factor IX(106-108)/factor VII was strongly decreased, both in the absence and presence of factor VIII. Activity could be restored by simultaneous substitution of the hydrophobic sites in both EGF-like domains for factor VII residues. These data suggest that factor IXa enzymatic activity requires hydrophobic contact between the two EGF-like domains.     

黄雀发声核团与部分听觉中枢内P物质的分布和性双态比较

用免疫组织化学方法研究P物质在雌雄黄雀发声控制核团和听觉中枢内的分布,结合计算机图像分析仪检测SP免疫阳性细胞和末梢的灰度值,并作雌雄比较。结果如下:1.在发声学习中枢嗅叶X区有大量的SP阳性神经末梢和一些神经细胞。2.在发声控制核团前脑高级发声中枢(HVc)、古纹状体栎核、发声学习中枢新纹状体巨细胞核和丘脑背内侧核外侧部内有许多的SP免疫阳性细胞。3.在发声控制中枢中脑背内侧核和延髓舌下神经核气管呜管部、听觉中枢丘脑卵圆核的壳区、中脑背外侧核壳区及中脑丘间核等有密集的SP免疫阳性神经末梢和纤维分布;雄性发声中枢内SP的分布比雌性丰富,两者有显著的差异。结果表明:SP的分布在雌雄发声中枢之间存在显著的性双态;SP广泛分布于黄雀发声控制核团和部分听觉中枢内,提示SP可能在发声控制及听觉中枢内具有重要的生理功能。     

Glutamate Dehydrogenase in Human Brain: Regional Distribution and Properties

Glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) activity was studied in 17 regions of six human brains. Duration and conditions of the postmortem period did not affect enzyme activity. Specific activity ranged between 103 and 377 nmoles/min/mg protein at 25 degrees C and it was 10-fold higher than that found in leukocytes. Apart from exclusively white matter regions (corpus callosum and centrum ovale), there was a moderate regional distribution (2.5-fold variation), with highest values in the inferior olive and hypothalamus, and lowest in the cerebellum and lenticular nucleus. With alpha-ketoglutarate (alpha-KG), NADH, or NH4+ as variable substrate, the apparent Km values in human brain were Km alpha-KG = 1.9 X 10(-3) M, KmNADH = 0.21 X 10(-3) M, and KmNH4+ = 28 X 10(-3) M, and in leukocytes they were Km alpha-KG = 1.7 X 10(-3) M, KmNADH = 0.24 X 10(-3) M, and KmNH4+ = 28 X 10(-3) M. The effects of cofactors, inhibitor, and pH were similar in brain and leukocyte GDH.     

Effect of sectioning the mammillothalamic tract on neurons of limbic nuclei of the thalamus

Neuronal activity of n. AV (n = 75) and n. AD (n = 55) of the thalamus was recorded extracellularly in unanaesthetized chronic rabbits after complete transection of the mammillo -thalamic tract (MTT). Elimination of this powerful afferent system produced a surprisingly small effect upon spontaneous and evoked neuronal activity. All types of responses were preserved in both nuclei, though some increase of multimodal diffuse tonic responses and decrease of more specialized phasic and complex on-effects occurred in n. AV. In both nuclei short-latency responses (less than 14 ms) to auditory stimuli disappeared. The number of units with dynamic transformations of responses during repeated stimuli application (gradual emergence and shaping of responses, as well as their habituation) decreased 2-3-fold in both nuclei. The impulse activity travelling in MTT seems to be not critical for limbic nuclei sensory reactivity but significant for plasticity of the responses.     

Identification of myosin-like proteins included in chromatin

A myosin-like protein was purified 40-fold from rat liver chromatin (as determined by the K+-EDTA-ATPase activity equal to 0.013 and 0.442 M PPi/mg.min for chromatin and purified protein, respectively). Electrophoresis performed under non-denaturating conditions revealed that the overall ATPase activity of the sample is associated with one component whose migration is very similar to that of skeletal muscle myosin. The myosin components isolated from the nuclei and cytoplasm of rat cardiac muscle differ by their electrophoretic mobilities; those from nuclei of different tissues, i.e., liver and heart, have similar mobilities.     

Rat brain fatty acid-binding protein during development.

Cytosolic fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) have been described in rat and bovine whole brain. In the present study we investigated the distribution of FABP among white matter and gray matter as well as its changes during development. Fatty acid binding activity was similar in white and gray matter up to 40 days of age. In white matter it showed an age dependent increase thereafter, while in gray matter it remained constant throughout. Gel filtration (Sephadex G-75) of white matter cytosol of adult female rats resolved the fatty acid-binding activity in two peaks: A (Vo) and B (12-14 KDa; FABP). The specific binding activity in the FABP fraction was 10.4 pmol/micrograms of protein. The activity in peak A showed an age-dependent increase which paralleled myelin deposition. In contrast, the activity in the FABP fraction (peak B) remained undetectable up to 40 days of age, increasing thereafter. The differential distribution of cellular brain proteins with the capacity to bind fatty acids in gray matter and white matter suggests that this activity could be related to glial cells or to cell related structures such as myelin.     

Flow cytometry of human colorectal tumors: nuclear isolation by detergent technique

A simple one-step technique for detergent isolation and DNA staining of nuclei from mouse colon and from human colorectal tumors was investigated. Nuclear yield increased with treatment time, up to 24 h. There were only minor differences when detergent concentrations from 0 to 0.6% were used. The lowest (0.03%) concentration was most effective. No loss of nuclei was effected by cell lysis and no selectivity was observed for isolation of certain cell-cycle phases or ploidy classes from heterogeneous tumors. The nuclei were stable in the stain-detergent solution for 24 h, but lymphocytes were sensitive to the possible proteolytic activity of one of the two commercial RNase preparations. Of the total number of parenchymal nuclei in mouse liver, as estimated by a stereological method, approximately 60% were isolated by the procedure (approximately 0.9 X 10(8) nuclei/g tissue). From mouse colon the average nuclear yield was 1.8 X 10(8)/g, and from human colorectal tumors 0.9 X 10(8)/g (ranges 0.3-1.9 X 10(8]. Microscopic examination of undissolved tissue fragments from the preparation of tumors and mouse colon showed a high selectivity for isolation of epithelial and neoplastic nuclei, leaving the stroma with its nuclei almost intact.     

Dolichol in Human Brain: Regional and Developmental Aspects

Distinct regional differences in dolichol content were defined in human brain from 15 to 76 years of age. Concerning the regional distribution of dolichol, levels were: higher in cortical gray matter than in subcortical white matter, highest among cortical regions in temporal gray matter, highest among all brain regions in thalamus, and lowest among all brain regions in lower brain stem and spinal cord. The developmental changes in the contents of dolichol were found to be different among brain regions. For example, among regions with the highest levels of dolichol, in thalamus there was a six to sevenfold increase, but in parietal gray matter, only a 2.5-fold increase. Regional and developmental changes in the proportions of the individual molecular species (isoprenologues) of dolichol were also observed. The findings indicate that the metabolism of dolichol is not uniform among regions of developing and aging human brain and may have implications for the role of dolichol in normal and diseased human brain.     

Requirements for autosomal gene activity during precellular stages of Drosophila melanogaster

To identify early requirements for zygotic gene activity in Drosophila, we used compound autosomes and autosome-Y translocations to generate embryos deficient for cytologically defined portions of the genome. No obvious gross morphological defects were observed in any deficiency class until the beginning of cycle 14. Only seven autosomal regions were identified with discrete effects visible prior to the onset of gastrulation. These regions include genes with locus-specific effects on the clearing of the cortical cytoplasm during early cycle 14, (22AB), the initiation of the slow and fast phases of cellularization (26BF and 40AC, respectively), the apical-basal distribution of nuclei during cycle 14 (71C-75C) and the closing off of furrow canals during cellularization (100AC). The distal tip of the third chromosome also contains two loci (99DF and 100AC) whose deletion causes multiple nuclei to be cellularized into single cells, a phenotype similar to that produced in embryos totally lacking the X-chromosome.     

Spatial association of homologous pericentric regions in human lymphocyte nuclei during repair

Spatial positioning of pericentric chromosome regions in human lymphocyte cell nuclei was investigated during repair after H(2)O(2)/L-histidine treatment. Fifteen to three-hundred minutes after treatment, these regions of chromosomes 1, 15, and X were labeled by fluorescence in situ hybridization. The relative locus distances (LL-distances), the relative distances to the nuclear center (LC-distances), and the locus-nuclear center-locus angles (LCL-angles) were measured in approximately 5000 nuclei after two-dimensional microscopy. Experimental frequency histograms were compared to control data from untreated stimulated and quiescent (G(0)) nuclei and to a theoretical two-dimensional projection from random points. Based on the frequency distributions of the LL-distances and the LCL-angles, an increase of closely associated labeled regions was found shortly after repair activation. For longer repair times this effect decreased. After 300 min the frequency distribution of the LL-distances was found to be compatible with the random distance distribution again. The LL-distance frequency histograms for quiescent nuclei did not significantly differ from the theoretical random distribution, although this was the case for the stimulated control of chromosomes 15 and X. It may be inferred that, concerning the distances, homologous pericentric regions appear not to be randomly distributed during S-phase, and are subjected to dynamic processes during replication and repair.     

Fluorescent cytochemical detection of sialidase activity using 5-bromo-4-chloroindol-3-yl-α-D-N-acetylneuraminic acid as the substrate

A novel fluorescent cytochemical method for sialidase activity was developed using 5-bromo-4-chloroindol-3-yl-alpha- D- N-acetylneuraminic acid (X-Neu5Ac) as the substrate. Intact nuclei were isolated from porcine liver and incubated at 37 degrees C for 3 h with 1 mM X-Neu5Ac at pH 4.8. The nuclei were stained with blue color that was derived from the oxidized compound of the reaction product X (5-bromo-4-chloro-3-hydroxyindole). A specific sialidase inhibitor, 2,3-dehydro-2-deoxy- N-acetylneuraminic acid, suppressed the staining in a dose-dependent manner. Despite the specificity of the cytochemical reaction, the staining was too weak to analyze the staining distribution and pattern of individual nuclei. To attain more sensitive detection of sialidase activity, the nuclei were incubated with X-Neu5Ac in the presence of Fast Red Violet LB. Individual nuclei of porcine liver were clearly stained with fluorescence that was produced by the conjugated compound of product X with Fast Red Violet LB. This fluorescent cytochemical method was also employed successfully for detection of sialidase activity of intact GOTO neuroblastoma cells in culture. The present method should provide a useful tool for investigating the localization and stage-specific expression of sialidase activity in tissues and cells.     

5-HYDROXY-l-TRYPTOPHAN DECARBOXYLASE ACTIVITY: MICROASSAY AND DISTRIBUTION IN DISCRETE RAT BRAIN NUCLEI

Abstract— 5-Hydroxy- l -tryptophan decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.28) activity was measured in discrete regions of the rat brain by means of a sensitive micromethod lhat allows the quantitation of enzyme activity in μg amounts of brain tissue.
A good correlation was obtained between serotonin levels and 5-hydroxy- l -tryptophan decarboxylase activity in all the brain regions examined. Wide differences in enzyme activity were found in the different brain nuclei, with a 20-fold difference in activity between the most active region (the nucleus raphe dorsalis) and the least active regions (the corpus callosum and the optic tract).     

Purification and characterization of phosphoglycerate mutase from methanol-grown Hyphomicrobium X and Pseudomonas AM1.

Phosphoglycerate mutase has been purified from methanol-grown Hyphomicrobium X and Pseudomonas AMI by acid precipitation, heat treatment, ammonium sulphate fractionation, Sephadex G-50 gel filtration and DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. The purification attained using the Hyphomicrobium X extract was 72-fold, and using the Pseudomonas AMI extract, 140-fold. The enzyme purity, as shown by analytical polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, was 50% from Hyphomicrobium X and 40% from Pseudomonas AMI. The enzyme activity was associated with one band. The purified preparations did not contain detectable amounts of phosphoglycerate kinase, phosphopyruvate hydratase, phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase or glycerate kinase activity. The molecular weight of the enzymic preparation was 32000 +/- 3000. The enzyme from both organisms was stable at low temperatures and, in the presence of 2,3-diphosphoglyceric acid, could withstand exposure to high temperatures. The enzyme from Pseudomonas AMI has a broad pH optimum at 7-0 to 7-6 whilst the enzyme from Hyphomicrobium X has an optimal activity at pH 7-3. The cofactor 2,3-diphosphoglyceric acid was required for maximum enzyme activity and high concentrations of 2-phosphoglyceric acid were inhibitory. The Km values for the Hyphomicrobium X enzyme were: 3-phosphoglyceric acid, 6-0 X 10(-3) M: 2-phosphoglyceric acid, 6-9 X 10(-4) M; 2,3-diphosphoglyceric acid, 8-0 X 10(-6) M; and for the Pseudomonas AMI ENzyme: 3-4 X 10(-3) M, 3-7 X 10(-4) M and 10 X 10(-6) M respectively. The equilibrium constant for the reaction was 11-3 +/- 2-5 in the direction of 2-phosphoglyceric acid to 3-phosphoglyceric acid and 0-09 +/- 0-02 in the reverse direction. The standard free energy for the reaction proceeding from 2-phosphoglyceric acid to 3-phosphoglyceric acid was -5-84 kJ mol(-1) and in the reverse direction +5-81 kJ mol(-1).