Comparative studies on the adhesiveness of granulocytes of guinea pig and man

Summary The high affinity of granulocytes of guinea pig and man to glass surfaces is modified by serum. Native serum contains both an adherence-promoting activity, which is related to complement, and components which reduce the adhesiveness of granulocytes. These components are stable at 56°C for 30 min and are tightly bound to the glass surface. -Lipoproteins are candidates for this adherence reducing ability of serum. Adherence promotion by native serum is mediated by coating the glass surface with C3b/C3bi. Human granulocytes from the peripheral blood adhered to glass surfaces coated by native human or guinea pig serum with C3b/C3bi to almost the same extent as in the presence of native serum, but on guinea pig granulocytes elicited in the peritoneal cavity, a cell surface metalloproteinase degraded the C3b/C3bi, thus reducing the adhesiveness of these cells. This proteinase was inhibited by MgEDTA, DTT, and 1,10-phenanthroline, whereby the high adhesiveness of granulocytes was restored to C3b/C3bi-coated glass.Abbreviations BA benzamidine hydrochloride - BTS Bacillus thuringiensis subtoxicus - DTT dithiothreitol - EAC -amino-caproic acid - gp guinea pig - LDL low density lipoproteins - SEM scanning electron microscopy     

Monociliary receptors in interstitial Proseriata and Neorhabdocoela (Turbellaria Neoophora)

Summary The ultrastructure of monociliary receptors in 10 species of the Proseriata and Neorhabdocoela is described, with particular reference to the epidermal dendritic part.Sensory cells with a single kinocilium situated at the level of the distal epidermis membrane are considered as mechano- or chemoreceptors.There exist sensory cells with a dendrite penetrating one epidermis cell and bearing an embedded kinocilium and a collar of 8 stereocilia or ridges with a fribrillose substructure. These collared receptors probably function as mechanoreceptors.In comparison with collared sensory cells in species of other turbellarian orders, the embedded receptors in the Proseriata and Neorhabdocoela are more advanced and possess synapomorphous characteristics. With the embedded receptors a new evidence is given for the close phylogenetic relationship between the Proseriata and Neorhabdocoela.The distribution of collared cells in the animal system and their phylogenetic implication for a choanoflagellate origin of the Metazoa are briefly discussed.List of abbreviations ar annular rootlet - bm basement membrane - cb crystalline body - cc collar cell - cw cell web - cwt cell web-thickening - d dendrite - kc kinocilium - lm longitudinal musculature - mv microvilli - n nerve - nt neurotubuli - pb parenchymal branches - r rootlet - rd ridges - rh rhabdite - rm ring musculature - sc stereocilia - sd septate desmosomes - tm transversal musculature - u ultrarhabdites - za zonula adhaerens     

Angiotensin-converting enzyme: zinc- and inhibitor-binding stoichiometries of the somatic and testis isozymes.

The blood pressure regulating somatic isozyme of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) consists of two homologous, tandem domains each containing a putative metal-binding motif (HEXXH), while the testis isozyme consists of just a single domain that is identical with the C-terminal half of somatic ACE. Previous metal analyses of somatic ACE have indicated a zinc stoichiometry of 1 mol of Zn2+/mol of ACE and inhibitor-binding studies have found 1 mol of inhibitor bound/mol of enzyme. These and other data have indicated that only one of the two domains of somatic ACE is catalytically active. We have repeated the metal and inhibitor-binding analyses of ACE from various sources and have determined protein concentration by quantitative amino acid analysis on the basis of accurate polypeptide molecular weights that are now available. We find that the somatic isozyme in fact contains 2 mol of Zn2+ and binds 2 mol of lisinopril (an ACE inhibitor) per mol of enzyme, whereas the testis isozyme contains 1 mol of Zn2+ and binds 1 mol of lisinopril. In the case of somatic ACE, the second equivalent of inhibitor binds to a second zinc-containing site as evidenced by the ability of a moderate excess of inhibitor to protect both zinc ions against dissociation. However, active site titration with lisinopril assayed by hydrolysis of furanacryloyl-Phe-Gly-Gly revealed that 1 mol of inhibitor/mol of enzyme abolished the activity of either isozyme, indicating that the principal angiotensin-converting site likely resides in the C-terminal (testicular) domain of somatic ACE and that binding of inhibitor to this site is stronger than to the second site.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

High-density genetic mapping for coffee leaf rust resistance

Coffee leaf rust caused by the fungus Hemileia vastatrix causes considerable economic losses for coffee producers. Although agrochemical products can provide sufficient disease control, the use of resistant cultivars is a safer alternative. This resistance may be constrained by one or a few genetic factors, mainly those found in material originating from interspecific hybrids. In this study, the genetic analysis of an F ₂ population consisting of 224 plants derived from a crossing of Híbrido de Timor UFV 427-15 (resistant) with Catuaí Amarelo IAC 30 (susceptible) showed that a dominant gene confers the resistance of coffee to race II of H. vastatrix. From a genetic map saturated with 25 amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers linked to the resistance gene, we developed a high-density genetic map with six sequence-characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers delimiting a chromosomal region of 9.45 cM and flanking the dominant gene at 0.7 and 0.9 cM. This is the first saturated and high-density genetic map obtained from this region containing the resistance gene. The results of this study are of great importance for the introduction of molecular markers for marker-assisted selection; they will also facilitate studies related to the cloning, structure, and function of race-specific genes involved in the resistance of coffee trees to H. vastatrix.     

Heterostyly in the Canarian endemic Jasminum odoratissimum (Oleaceae)

Jasminum odoratissimum is a Madeira and Canary Islands endemic showing classic heterostyly, i.e. with long-styled flowers with anthers at a low level in the corolla tube and short-styled flowers with anthers at a high level in the corolla tube. Short-styled flowers have large pollen, whereas long-styled flowers have small pollen. The two types are present in equal frequencies in the population.