Isolation and Purification of Chondroitin 6-Sulfate Protein From Umbilical Cord

Intact chondroitin 6-sulfate protein can be extracted from umbilical cord with dilute saline. Hyaluronic acid which is also extracted, is removed by precipitation with cetylpyridinium chloride followed by washing of the precipitate with aqueous sodium chloride. Subsequent purification is effected by passage through cation and anion exchange resins. Elution from the latter with salt solutions of increasing concentration yields chondroitin 6-sulfate proteoglycan in two fractions. The product is isolated from each of the fractions as the calcium salt by fractional precipitation with ethanol. The protein moiety can be cleaved from the mucopolysaccharide either by proteolytic digestion or treatment with alkali. The results obtaired on reaction with alkali and with sodium borohydride indicate that the polysaccharide is covalently linked to the protein through a serine unit.     

正常人和SLE患者血清中抗DNA抗体的研究

用亲和层析法对6例正常人和4例SLE患者血清中抗DNA抗体进行提取和定量研究,发现正常人血清中抗DNA抗体的组成IgM/IgG大于1,是以IgM为主的抗体,SLE患者血清中抗DNA抗体含量高,IgM/IgG小于1,是以IgG为主的抗体。用胰蛋白酶降解提取的抗DNA抗体再借助于SDS—聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳对正常人和SLE患者抗DNA抗体的结构进行初步探讨,电泳结果表明正常人和SLE患者纯化抗DNA抗体经胰蛋白酶降解以后,正常人在52.2Kd区有一特异性降解片段,而SLE患者则在33.6Kd区有明显的降解片段富集,且表明它们是抗DNA—IgG所产生的。这说明SLE患者血清中抗DNA—IgG不仅在数量上比正常人有所增加,而且在结构上也有所不同。此外,这两种不同的抗DNA—IgG被胰蛋白酶降解的速度也有差异。     

DEVELOPMENTAL AND OTHER ASPECTS OF [35S]CYSTEINE TRANSPORT BY RAT BRAIN SYNAPTOSOMES

Abstract— Cysteine uptake by rat brain synaptosomes occurs by active transport. The uptake by synaptosomes isolated from newborn brain is slower and the concentration gradient achieved is lower than that observed in adult tissue. Synaptosomal fractions from both adult and newborn rat brains accumulate cysteine by two saturable systems. The calculated parameters show that the maximum rates of cysteine uptake in adult synaptosomes are approximately twice that observed in newborn synaptosomes for both the high and low affinity systems. The uptake by the high affinity system is sodium dependent and is inhibited by glycine and dibasic amino acids. Uptake by synaptosomes from 14-day-old animals is close to that observed in adult tissue. The uptake of cysteine differs greatly from that of cystine since the oxidized form, cystine, is taken up more slowly by systems with low affinities which are sodium independent, do not interact with dibasic amino acids and are independent of age.     

Fetal surfactant as a source of arachidonate in human amniotic fluid

The factors responsible for the onset of labor in women are not well understood but it is clear that parturition is associated with increased production of prostanoids and release of arachidonic acid by intrauterine tissues. Pulmonary surfactant is secreted from the fetal lung into the amniotic fluid where its concentration increases toward term. In this paper we have shown that the ability of fetal surfactant to stimulate prostaglandin production by amnion cells is greatly enhanced by pre-incubating surfactant with amniotic fluid. This is due to the release of fatty acids, including arachidonate, from the lipids of fetal surfactant by the sequential action of phospholipase C and diglyceride lipase. Thus, in addition to providing the amnion with a source of arachidonate derived from the intracellular transfer of arachidonate from surfactant phosphatidylcholine to phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylinositol in amnion cells, fetal surfactant also contributes to the pool of free arachidonate in amniotic fluid.     

Trypanostatic activity of rat IgG purified from the surface coat of Trypanosoma lewisi

Host IgG is a component of the surface coat of Trypanosoma lewisi; it is specifically acquired during infection in the rat, concomitant with a rise in titer of trypanostatic (ablastic) activity of host serum. Host IgG was eluted from trypomastigotes at 7 to 9 days postinfection with a high salt-low pH buffer. Surface coats and trypanosome ultrastructure were not notably altered by the elution procedure, as determined by electron microscopy. Rat IgG was removed and purified from the trypanosome eluates on an immunoadsorbent column made with the IgG fraction of anti-rat IgG serum coupled to Sepharose beads. Concentrated column eluates, by comparison with a standard, were shown to be rat IgG by immunoelectrophoresis and SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. As a control, IgG from normal rat serum was purified by the same technique. IgG-negative trypanosomes harvested from immunosuppressed rats bound IgG purified from surface coats of trypanosomes, but not IgG purified from normal rat serum, as demonstrated by subsequent labelling with FITC-conjugated, rabbit anti-rat IgG. The IgG purified from surface coats inhibited the reproduction of T. lewisi in an in vitro assay, but purified, normal IgG did not. These data show that antigen-specific host IgG, adsorbed to the surface of T. lewisi, is ablastic antibody.     

裸伞属的的两个新种

本文报道了广东地区裸伞属(Gymnopilus Karsten)的7个种,其中2个新种,除近缘裸伞外,其余为国内新纪录。并附分种检索表。     

Purification and properties of the pyruvate kinase of sturgeon muscle.

Pyruvate kinase was purified from sturgeon muscle in yeilds comparable with those obtained from the muscles of other species. In contrast with mammalian muscle pyruvate kinase the enzyme from sturgeon muscle gives a sigmoidal velocity curve with respect to phosphoenolpuruvate saturation, is activated by fructose 1.6-diphosphate, and is inhibited by bivalent copper ions. In these respects it is similar to the enzyme isolated from mammalian liver. The degree of interaction between phosphoenolpyruvate-binding sites is dependent on temperature.     

Metabolite-controlled phosphorylation of hepatic phosphofructokinase proceeds by cAMP-dependent protein kinase

In hepatocytes 32P-incorporation into rat liver phosphofructokinase is stimulated by glucose as well as by glucagon, the effects of both stimuli being prevented by L-alanine [Eur. J. Biochem. (1982) 122, 175]. The phosphopeptides of the enzyme derived from limited proteolysis by subtilisin and from exhaustive tryptic digestion were analyzed either by one-dimensional mapping on sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide slab gels and by fingerprint mapping, respectively. It is shown that in vivo stimulation of 32P-incorporation by glucose or by glucose plus glucagon results in identical phosphopeptide maps, and that these maps were identical with those obtained from phosphofructokinase phosphorylated in vitro with catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase. It is concluded that in the intact liver cell phosphofructokinase is phosphorylated by cAMP-dependent protein kinase but that the state of phosphorylation is modified by metabolite control.     

A method for the sequence analysis of dermatan sulphate.

We are attempting to develop methods for the sequencing of glycosaminoglycans from their reducing end. Here we describe a procedure for the analysis of dermatan sulphate from pig skin. The glycosaminoglycan is released from its parent proteoglycan by exhaustive proteolysis by using both endo- and exo-peptidases. The amino group of the residual serine residue is conjugated with a p-hydroxyphenyl group, which in turn is iodinated with 125I (the Bolton-Hunter reagent, BHR). The ion-exchange-purified end-labelled dermatan sulphate is then degraded partially or completely by various enzymic or chemical means to yield fragments extending from the labelled serine residue to the point of cleavage. The various products are separated by gradient PAGE, detected by autoradiography and quantified by videodensitometry. Complete digestion with chondroitin ABC lyase affords the labelled fragment delta HexA-GalNAc(-SO4)-GlcA-Gal-Gal-Xyl-Ser(-BHR). The structure was confirmed by sequential degradation from the non-reducing end by chondroitin AC lyase, HgCl2, and beta-galactosidase. Periodate oxidation cleaves most of the Xyl even without treatment with alkaline phosphatase, showing that Xyl is not substituted with phosphate. Results from partial and selective periodate oxidation indicate that most of the non-sulphated IdoA residues are located towards the non-reducing end. Partial or complete digestions with testicular hyaluronidase (in the presence of an excess of beta-glucuronidase) or chondroitin AC lyase identify the positions of GlcA residues. The results confirm that HexA next to Gal is always GlcA. Moreover, GlcA is common in the first three disaccharide repeats. Results with testicular hyaluronidase indicate that the distribution of clustered GlcA-GalNAc repeats is periodic and peaks at positions 1-3, 8-9 and around 25. Although there must be chains that contain IdoA in nearly all of the available positions, regions that have not been fully processed during biosynthesis are markedly non-random.     

The determination of 4,5-dioxovaleric acid in plant preparations and a procedure for the assay of l-alanine:4,5-dioxovaleric acid aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.43) activity

Usually, 4,5-dioxovaleric acid (DOVA) is determined in biological materials by measuring the absorption at 269 nm of its benzoquinoxaline derivative which is formed by condensation with 2,3-diaminonaphthalene (DAN). Not only must this benzoquinoxaline be separated from unreacted DAN and flavins which have interfering uv absorption but, when working with higher-plant tissues, additional interfering compounds with uv absorption, ionic and solubility properties similar to polyphenols must also be removed. The separation of the DOVA-derived benzoquinoxaline from all these interfering compounds by a series of solvent extractions utilizing the difference in ionic behaviour of the benzoquinoxaline and the interfering contaminants is described.It was found that a small but significant amount of a benzoquinoxaline is formed when 5-aminolaevulinic acid (ALA) was incubated with DAN at pH 8 at 60°C and was due to the prior non-enzymic deamination of a small portion of ALA to DOVA: this benzoquinoxaline was spectrophotometrically, spectrofluorimetrically, and chromatographically indistinguishable from that formed by the condensation of DOVA and DAN. Since formation of this benzoquinoxaline interferes with the assay of l-alanine:4,5-dioxovaleric acid aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.43), a procedure to measure DOVA formed by this enzyme from ALA and pyruvate is described in which the DOVA is first separated from the ALA by ion-exchange chromatography prior to condensation with DAN: this method permits the separate determination of both DOVA and ALA concentrations in the aminotransferase reaction mixture.     

Surveying a local fitness landscape of a protein with epistatic sites for the study of directed evolution

We present a method for analysis of a fitness landscape of a biopolymer with significantly epistatic sites. The analysis is based on a quasi-additive fitness model. The fitness model is constructed with additive terms conducted by "site-fitness" and epistatic terms conducted by "pair-fitness," where the site-fitness is a fitness contribution from an independent residue and the pair-fitness is a fitness contribution from a pair of epistatic residues. As a case study, we analyzed the sequence-fitness data for 45 clones of thermostable prolyl endopeptidase mutants. They were generated by a mutation scrambling method, which can accumulate advantageous mutations. The fitness contributions from 14 single-point mutations including E67Q and Q656R were identified by the analysis. As a result, we found that the fitness model with a significant epistatic term by a pair of the 67th site and 656th site was in good agreement with the experimental data and that the explored landscape in the binary 14-dimensional sequence space is still a mountainous landscape with twin peaks. The validity was supported by the analysis of mutant fitness distributions derived from another mutation scrambling experiment and by (3D) structural data.     

Interaction of RRF and EF-G from E. coli and T. thermophilus with ribosomes from both origins--insight into the mechanism of the ribosome recycling step

Ribosome recycling factor (RRF), elongation factor-G (EF-G), and ribosomes from Thermus thermophilus (tt-) and Escherichia coli (ec-) were used to study the disassembly mechanism of post-termination ribosomal complexes by these factors. With tt-RRF, ec-EF-G can release bound-tRNA from ec-model post-termination complexes. However, tt-RRF is not released by ec-EF-G from ec-ribosomes. This complex with tt-RRF and ec-ribosomes after the tRNA release by ec-EF-G is regarded as an intermediate of the disassembly reaction. Not only tt-RRF, but also mRNA, cannot be released from ec-ribosomes by tt-RRF and ec-EF-G. These data suggest that the release of RRF from ribosomes is coupled or closely related to the release of mRNA during disassembly of post-termination complexes. With tt-ribosomes, ec-EF-G cannot release ribosome-bound ec-RRF even though they are from the same species, showing that proper interaction of ec-RRF and ec-EF-G does not occur on tt-ribosomes. On the other hand, in contrast to a published report, tt-EF-G functions with ec-RRF to disassemble ec-post-termination complexes. In support of this finding, tt-EF-G translocates peptidyl tRNA on ec-ribosomes and catalyzes ec-ribosome-dependent GTPase, showing that tt-EF-G has in vitro translocation activity with ec-ribosomes. Since tt-EF-G with ec-RRF can release tRNA from ec-post-termination complexes, the data are consistent with the hypothesis that the release of tRNA by RRF and EF-G from post-termination complexes is a result of a translocation-like activity of EF-G on RRF.     

Cholesterol efflux is differentially regulated in neurons and astrocytes: Implications for brain cholesterol homeostasis

Disruption of cholesterol homeostasis in the central nervous system (CNS) has been associated with neurological, neurodegenerative, and neurodevelopmental disorders. The CNS is a closed system with regard to cholesterol homeostasis, as cholesterol-delivering lipoproteins from the periphery cannot pass the blood–brain-barrier and enter the brain. Different cell types in the brain have different functions in the regulation of cholesterol homeostasis, with astrocytes producing and releasing apolipoprotein E and lipoproteins, and neurons metabolizing cholesterol to 24(S)-hydroxycholesterol. We present evidence that astrocytes and neurons adopt different mechanisms also in regulating cholesterol efflux. We found that in astrocytes cholesterol efflux is induced by both lipid-free apolipoproteins and lipoproteins, while cholesterol removal from neurons is triggered only by lipoproteins. The main pathway by which apolipoproteins induce cholesterol efflux is through ABCA1. By upregulating ABCA1 levels and by inhibiting its activity and silencing its expression, we show that ABCA1 is involved in cholesterol efflux from astrocytes but not from neurons. Furthermore, our results suggest that ABCG1 is involved in cholesterol efflux to apolipoproteins and lipoproteins from astrocytes but not from neurons, while ABCG4, whose expression is much higher in neurons than astrocytes, is involved in cholesterol efflux from neurons but not astrocytes. These results indicate that different mechanisms regulate cholesterol efflux from neurons and astrocytes, reflecting the different roles that these cell types play in brain cholesterol homeostasis. These results are important in understanding cellular targets of therapeutic drugs under development for the treatments of conditions associated with altered cholesterol homeostasis in the CNS.     

Reversible ATP-dependent inactivation of glycerolphosphate acyltransferase from rat adipose tissue

Microsomal glycerolphosphate acyltransferase from rat adipose tissue is shown to be inactivated with time upon incubation with ATP. The inactivation can be observed in postmitochondrial supernatant as well as in washed microsomes. However, the effect is more pronounced upon addition of the cytosolic fraction. This activity is specific for ATP, is dependent on the nucleotide concentration, and is prevented when ATP is substituted by beta,gamma-methylene-ATP. Some protection is provided by amiloride but not by EGTA or cAMP-protein kinase inhibitor. Also, the level of enzyme inactivation is not modified by addition of cAMP-dependent protein kinase and its substrates. Inactivated glycerol-phosphate acyltransferase from ATP-treated microsomes can be reactivated by incubation with partially purified protein phosphatase from rat liver. These results suggest the existence in adipose tissue of a protein kinase (cAMP independent) that may be involved in the regulation of glycerolphosphate acyltransferase.     

The purification and properties of urocanase from Pseudomonas testosteroni.

Urocanase (urocanate hydratase, EC 4.2.1.49) purified from Pseudomonas testosteroni has a mol.wt. of 118000 determined by sedimentation-equilibrium analysis. Ultracentrifugation in 6M-guanidine hydrochloride and polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulphate show that the enzyme consists of two identical or very similar subunits. It is, like urocanase isolated from other sources, inhibited by reagents that react with carbonyl groups. Although urocanase from Ps. testosteroni is strongly inhibited by NaBH4, no evidence could be obtained for the presence of covalently bound 2-oxobutyrate as a prosthetic group; this is in contrast with findings elsewhere for urocanase from Pseudomonas putida. Urocanase from Ps. testosteroni does not contain pyridoxal 5'-phosphate as a coenzyme and in this respect is similar to all urocanases studied in purified form.     

Differential response of cultured parsley cells to elicitors from two non-pathogenic strains of fungi. Microsomal conversion of (+)marmesin into psoralen

Microsomal fractions isolated from parsley cell suspension cultures, which had been challenged with an elicitor from either Alternaria carthami or Phytophthora megasperma f. sp. glycinea, catalyzed the formation of psoralen from synthetic [3-14C](+)marmesin. Whereas psoralen was the only product formed in incubations with Alternaria-induced microsomes, another unidentified product was isolated from incubations with Phytophthora-induced microsomes. The latter product is neither a precursor nor a product of psoralen. In contrast, microsomes isolated from non-induced parsley cells lacked both of these catalytic activities. The formation of psoralen depends on NADPH as a cofactor and molecular oxygen. Blue-light-reversible CO inhibition and inhibition by various synthetic chemicals known to bind to cytochromes P450 indicated that the reaction is catalyzed by an elicitor-inducible cytochrome P450-dependent psoralen synthase. Fractionation of microsomal preparations by centrifugation revealed that psoralen synthase is associated with the endoplasmic reticulum. Our results suggest that the endoplasmic reticulum of cultured parsley cells is the primary target in the previously reported differential induction by elicitors from these two non-pathogenic strains of fungi.     

Site-site interactions in EF-hand calcium-binding proteins. Laser-excited europium luminescence studies of 9-kDa calbindin, the pig intestinal calcium-binding protein

Europium(III) binding to 9-kDa calbindin from pig intestines was studied by direct excitation of the 7Fo----5Do transition of the ion and by near-ultraviolet circular dichroic spectroscopy. Europium(III) binding is clearly biphasic. As with other lanthanides the C-terminal metal-binding site (site II) is filled first. The europium ion in this site gives an excitation spectrum with a single peak at 579.1 nm (peak 2). The occupation of the N-terminal site (site I) by europium gives excitation spectra that are pH-dependent and show a peak at 579.4 nm (peak 1a) at pH 5 which shifts to 578.7 nm (peak 1b) over the pH range 5-7. At pH 8.07 the fluorescence from europium in site I largely disappears because of weak binding, whereas that from site II is quenched by about 75% in spite of full occupancy of the site as shown by circular dichroic titration. There is a strong interaction between the two sites in spite of the very different affinities. The fluorescence from site II increases stoichiometrically with the addition not only of the first equivalent of europium, but also concomitantly with the fluorescence from site I upon addition of the second equivalent. Furthermore, when Eu1-calbindin is titrated with calcium the fluorescence at 579.1 nm is quenched by about 30% during the addition of one equivalent of calcium which fills site I. Subsequent titration with large excesses of calcium displaces europium from site II. The affinity of site II for europium is about 100 times that of calcium under these conditions.     

Purification of total cellular DNA from a single plant

A procedure is outlined for purifying DNA from a single plant. A crude organelle pellet consisting of nuclei, chromatin, chloroplasts, and mitochondria is prepared, suspended, and immediately lysed with detergents. The DNA is separated from RNA, protein, and polysaccharides by banding it in CsCl density equilibrium gradients. Ethidium bromide is included in all buffers to act as an inhibitor of DNAase activity. The DNA prepared in this manner can be digested with restriction endonucleases, separated by gel electrophoresis, and used to identify specific genes by hybridization of cloned DNA sequences.These experiments were supported by Grant DEB79-2298 from the National Science Foundation and Grant 59-2133-0-1-489-0 from the USDA Competitive Research Grants Program.     

Characterization of Thylakoid-Derived Lipid-Protein Particles Bearing the Large Subunit of Ribulose-1,5-Bisphosphate Carboxylase/Oxygenase

Lipid-protein particles bearing the 55-kD ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) (EC 4.1.1.39) large subunit (RLSU) and no detectable corresponding Rubisco small subunit (RSSU) were isolated from the stroma of intact chloroplasts by flotation centrifugation. Stromal RLSU-bearing particles appear to originate from thylakoids because they can also be generated in vitro by illumination of isolated thylakoids. Their formation in vitro is largely heat denaturable and is facilitated by light or ATP. RLSU-containing lipid-protein particles range from 0.05 to 0.10 [mu]m in radius, contain the same fatty acids as thylakoids, but have a 10- to 15-fold higher free-to-esterified fatty acid ratio than thylakoids. RLSU-bearing lipid-protein particles with no detectable RSSU were also immunopurified from the populations of both stromal lipid-protein particles and those generated in vitro from illuminated thylakoids. Protease shaving indicated that the RLSU is embedded in the lipid-protein particles and that there is also a protease-protected RLSU in thylakoids. These observations collectively indicate that the RLSU associated with thylakoids is released into the stroma by light-facilitated blebbing of lipid-protein particles. The release of RLSU-containing particles may in turn be coordinated with the assembly of Rubisco holoenzyme because chaperonin 60 is also associated with lipid-protein particles isolated from stroma.