Purification of three antibacterial proteins from the culture medium of NIH-Sape-4, an embryonic cell line of Sarcophaga peregrina

Three antibacterial proteins were purified from the culture medium of NIH-Sape-4, an embryonic cell line of Sarcophaga peregrina (flesh fly). Sequencing studies showed that two of these proteins belong to the sarcotoxin I family, potent antibacterial proteins purified from the hemolymph of Sarcophaga larvae, whereas the other protein, named sapecin, is a new protein consisting of 40 amino acid residues including 6 cysteine residues. Unlike sarcotoxin I, sapecin preferentially represses the growth of various Gram-positive bacteria. The proteins of the sarcotoxin I family produced by this cell line were found to have carboxyl-terminal glycine, whereas sarcotoxin I in the hemolymph has amidated amino acids. This suggests that the embryonic cells lack an enzyme that cleaves off carboxyl-terminal glycine to form a new amidated carboxyl terminus.     

Identification of storage-protein messenger RNA of the fleshfly Sarcophaga peregrina.

Storage-protein mRNA was found to be abundant in poly(A)-containing RNA extracted from the fat-body of third-instar larvae of Sarcophaga peregrina (fleshfly). This RNA sedimented at the position of 19S on sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation and the product of its translation in vitro was 75K protein (protein of mol.wt. 75 000), which was precipitated specifically with antibody against storage protein. This product was suggested to contain a signal sequence that is missing in mature storage protein. The poly(A)-containing RNA was also found to contain much of another mRNA coding for 25K protein (protein of mol.wt. 25 000), but the function of this protein is unknown.     

Activation of latent ribonuclease in the fat-body of fleshfly (Sarcophaga peregrina) larvae on pupation.

A crude extract of the fat-bodies of third-instar larvae of Sarcophaga peregrina (fleshfly) was found to contain latent RNAase (ribonuclease) consisting of RNAase and inhibitor protein that is sensitive to p-chloromercuribenzoic acid. The RNAase activity in the crude extract of fat-bodies became detectable with time after puparium formation, indicating that the inhibitor is selectively inactivated and RNAase is released from the RNAase-inhibitor complex during metamorphosis.     

Purification of lectin induced in the hemolymph of Sarcophaga peregrina larvae on injury

A lectin was purified from the hemolymph of Sarcophaga peregrina larvae, obtained after injury of their body wall. This lectin agglutinated sheep red blood cells markedly and the hemagglutinating activity was inhibited by galactose and lactose. The active lectin was found to have a molecular weight of 190,000 and to consist of four alpha subunits and two beta subunits, with molecular weights of 32,000 and 30,000, respectively. During the early pupal stage, similar hemagglutinating activity in the hemolymph increased to several times than in larval hemolymph. This activity was completely inhibited by the antibody prepared against the lectin purified from the hemolymph of injured larvae. Thus, the same protein having lectin activity is apparently induced under two different physiological conditions: injury of the body wall of larvae and during pupation. The biological significance of this lectin is discussed.     

Involvement of sapecin in embryonic cell proliferation of Sarcophaga peregrina (flesh fly)

Addition of antibodies against sapecin to the culture medium of NIH-Sape-4 cells derived from a Sarcophaga embryo greatly inhibited cell proliferation, whereas addition of sapecin stimulated cell proliferation. These results suggest that sapecin is involved in the proliferation of embryonic cells of Sarcophaga. Sapecin is known to have potent antibacterial activity, so it seems to have two different biological functions: i.e. protection against bacterial infection and stimulation of embryonic cell proliferation.     

Purification and characterization of an antibacterial protein from haemolymph of Sarcophaga peregrina (flesh-fly) larvae.

Three antibacterial proteins were induced when the body wall of Sarcophaga peregrina (flesh-fly) larvae was injured with a hypodermic needle. These proteins were separated and one was purified to homogeneity. The molecular weight of the purified protein was 5000 and its amino acid composition was similar to that of cecropins, which are antibacterial proteins in Hyalophora cecropia (cecropia moth) pupae. This protein was found to have bactericidal activity and to be effective at a concentration of 0.1 micrograms/ml against certain Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.     

Involvement of Sarcophaga lectin in the development of imaginal discs of Sarcophaga peregrina in an autocrine manner

The imaginal discs of Sarcophaga were found not to develop normally in the presence of galactose, a hapten sugar of Sarcophaga lectin, or anti-Sarcophaga lectin antibody. Wing and leg discs cultured with these substances became morphologically abnormal and no imaginal discs reached the stage of terminal differentiation, even in the presence of 20-hydroxyecdysone. The development of the imaginal discs was shown to be autonomously regulated in an autocrine manner by Sarcophaga lectin; namely Sarcophaga lectin was secreted by the imaginal discs in the presence of 20-hydroxyecdysone, and the stimulus of self-induced Sarcophaga lectin seemed to be indispensable for further development of the imaginal discs. Sarcophaga lectin was originally found as a defense protein, but these results show that it plays independent roles in both defense and development.     

Accumulation of cadmium and induction of its binding protein in the digestive tract of fleshfly (Sarcophaga peregrina) larvae

The larva of Sarcophaga peregrina ( fleshfly ) was fed with cadmium (Cd)-containing diet and the distribution of Cd among tissues was determined by separating each organ. Approximately 90% of Cd accumulated in the larva was found in the digestive tract, the fat body and the Malpighian tube being less effective tissues in its accumulation. Cd in the digestive tract was mostly bound to an inducible Cd-binding protein. The Cd-binding protein was a mixture of five isoproteins having several properties characteristic of metallothionein.     

Excretion of cadmium and change in the relative ratio of iso-cadmium-binding proteins during metamorphosis of fleshfly (Sarcophaga peregrina)

Cadmium (Cd) was accumulated in the larvae of Sarcophaga peregrina (fleshfly) by exposure through diet, and the metabolic fate of the accumulated Cd during metamorphosis was examined. Most of the Cd accumulated in the larvae was retained in the pupae, and 53% of that was excreted from the adults immediately after emergence. The Cd-binding protein induced in the larvae was degraded after pupation and the relative ratio of iso-Cd-binding proteins re-induced in the adults was different from that in the larvae. Copper content in the larvae was significantly reduced by Cd administration.     

Comparative studies on ecdysone metabolism between mature larvae and pharate pupae in the fleshfly,Sarcophaga peregrina

Metabolites of radioactive ecdysone or 20-hydroxyecdysone in larvae and pharate pupae of Sarcophaga peregrina were separated and identified by using thin-layer chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography, and chemical methods. At the larval stage ecdysone was metabolized to biologically less active ecdysteroids predominantly through 20-hydroxyecydsone, at the pharate pupal stage, to other ecdysteroids which were tentatively identified as 26-hydroxyecdysone, 3-epi-26-hydroxyecdysone, and 3-epi-20,26-dihydroxyecdysone. Ecdysteroid acids were found in the polar metabolites during pharate pupal-pupal transformation, but scarcely detected in the larval metabolites. These acids were presumed to be ecdysonoic acid, 20-hydroxyecdysonoic acid, and their epimers. The conjugates of ecdysteroid that released the free ecdysteroids by enzymatic hydrolysis were produced more in larvae than in pupae, whereas the very polar ecdysteroids that were not affected by the enzyme were found more in pupae. Therefore, there are different metabolic pathways of ecdysone between these two successive developmental stages, and the alteration of the metabolic pathway may serve as one of the important factors in a regulatory mechanism of molting hormone activity which is responsible for normal development of this insect.     

Purification of sarcotoxin II, antibacterial proteins of Sarcophaga peregrina (flesh fly) larvae

Three antibacterial proteins with almost identical primary structures termed sarcotoxin IIA, IIB, and IIC were purified to homogeneity from the hemolymph of third instar larvae of Sarcophaga peregrina. The molecular masses of these proteins were about 24,000. These proteins were found to have common antigenicity, and antibody against sarcotoxin IIA cross-reacted with sarcotoxin IIB and IIC. Radioimmunoassay using this antibody showed that these proteins are induced in the hemolymph in response to injury of the larval body wall.     

Effect of ecdysterone contact period on development of wing disks of the fleshfly, Sarcophaga peregrina, in vitro

The ecdysterone contact period required for pupal development of Sarcophaga wing disks was studied in vitro. When the disks were cultured in a medium with 1 × 10^?6 M ecdysterone for about 21 hr, evagination of wing disks occurred independent of a later transfer into a hormone-free medium. The contact period required for wing evagination was dependent on the concentration of ecdysterone.When the disks cultured in the ecdysterone-containing medium were subjected to an intervening ecdysterone-free condition, evagination of the wing occurred if the period of the hormone contact before and after the ecdysterone-free period totalled a certain length. The total period required for wing evagination was altered both by the duration of the intervening hormone-free culture and duration of the first culture with ecdysterone.The morphogenetic effect of ecdysterone is discussed in relation to RNA synthesis in vitro.     

一株棕尾别麻蝇胚胎细胞系的建立及其特性分析

双翅目昆虫细胞系广泛应用于遗传学、发育生物学、分子生物学、人和动物体病原学以及昆虫抗微生物肽的研究。本研究建立了一株新的棕尾别麻蝇Sarcophaga peregrina胚胎细胞系。该细胞系的原代培养始于2008年11月17日, 取材于棕尾别麻蝇晚期胚胎组织, 在Shields & Sang M3昆虫培养基中于28℃恒温培养, 在第26天进行第1次传代, 至今已历时21个月, 传代72次, 生长状态稳定, 被命名为Sp-E-HNU11。该细胞系的细胞形态主要呈梭形和近圆形, 杂以少量巨型细胞, 紧密贴壁生长。细胞群体倍增时间为42 h。染色体数目一般为10条或12条, 为二倍体或亚二倍体细胞系; 除一对颗粒状微型染色体外, 其他染色体呈短杆状。细胞系的β-萘酯酶和谷草转氨酶同工酶谱上分别显示出1条和3条酶带。随机引物扩增多态性 (random amplified polymorphic DNA, RAPD) 分析结果显示, 该细胞系与小菜蛾细胞系Px-E-HNU12、草地贪夜蛾细胞系IPLB-Sf-9和家蚕细胞系Bm-21E-HNU5呈现明显不同的带型特征。 Sp-E-HNU11细胞系的建立为昆虫抗微生物肽及其他相关的研究工作增添了新的研究工具和生产载体。     

Purification and Heterogeneous Localization of Sarcophaga Lectin Receptor on the Surface of Imaginal Discs of Sarcophaga peregrina (Flesh Fly)

Previously, we reported autocrine involvement of Sarcophaga lectin in the development of Sarcophaga imaginal discs (Kawaguchi et al. , Dev. Biol. 144 , 86–93 (1991)). In this study, we purified Sarcophaga lectin binding protein from the membrane fraction of cultured embryonic cells of Sarcophaga to near homogeneity and raised a monoclonal antibody against it. Histochemical analysis using the monoclonal antibody revealed that this binding protein is distributed heterogeneously on the surface of leg imaginal discs. This binding protein was especially clearly localized in the central region of the basal side of leg discs which forms the junction between the leg and body, suggesting the participation of Sarcophaga lectin in morphogenesis of the basal region of the developing leg.     

Identification and purification of sulfotransferases for 20-hydroxysteroid from the larval fat body of a fleshfly,Sarcophaga peregrina

Sulfotransferase (ST) activity for 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) was identified in a larval fat body lysate of the fleshfly, Sarcophaga peregrina, but not in the hemolymph. The activity was highly sensitive to 2,6-dichloro-4-nitrophenol (DCNP) (IC50=0.61 microM), a specific inhibitor of phenol ST (P-ST), but insensitive to triethylamine, a hydroxysteroid ST inhibitor. These results suggest that 20E-specific ST enzymes belong to the P-ST family, despite the fact that 20E is a hydroxysteroid. In addition to 20E ST activity, a relatively high level of 2-naphthol ST activity was detected in the fat body lysate. The ST activity for both substrates transiently decreased to the 50% of maximal levels, 6 hrs after induction of pupation. The ST enzymes were separated on a DEAE-cellulose column. The 20E-ST enzymes were eluted around 50 mM KCl as two separate peaks of close proximity and the P-ST was eluted at 0.1 M KCl. The 20E ST enzymes were further purified using 3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphate (PAP)-agarose affinity column chromatography. Both of the eluted active fractions demonstrated 43-kDa proteins on SDS-polyacrylamide gel. Photoaffinity labeling with [35S]-3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphosulfate (PAPS) showed 43-kDa bands in the fat body lysate, as well as in the purified fractions. These results suggest that the 43-kDa proteins catalyze 20E sulfation within the fat body of S. peregrina.     

Neuromuscular junctions and L-glutamate-sensitive sites in the fleshfly, Sarcophaga bullata.

Sites have been located on retractor unguis and trochantal depressor muscle fibres of Sarcophaga which respond to iontophoretic application of l-glutamate. No such sites could be found on flight muscle fibres. Ultrastructural examination of the three muscles reveals differences between the muscles in the positions of the neuromuscular junctions. A correlation can be made between the sites of the neuromuscular junctions and the iontophoretically sensitive sites. The possibility of l-glutamate fulfilling a transmitter rôle in these muscles is discussed.