Effects of various compounds on growth of yeast cells of Histoplasma capsulatum

Summary A number of compounds were screened for their effects on growth of the yeast cells ofHistoplasma capsulatum. Included were penicillin and related compounds, sulfhydryl inhibitors, various organic sulfur compounds recently synthesized for the first time, and compounds structurally related to the required metabolites, thiamine and cystine or cysteine. Cephalothin was the only one of the penicillin related compounds which inhibited growth. This occurred only when a high concentration (8.3 × 10^–4 M) was used. Of the analogues of cystine tested, allylglycine had the greatest inhibitory effect on growth of the yeast cells in the synthetic medium, but it failed to inhibit growth in a complex medium containing peptones and plasma. Among the sulfhydryl inhibitors, the maleimides were the most effective, producing complete inhibition of growth in the peptone medium at 10µg/ml or less. At subinhibitory concentrations the cultures tended to become mycelial. The action of the maleimides was reversed by cystine over a range of concentrations. At low concentrations, some of the disulfide derivatives of thiamine stimulated growth equally as well as thiamine, but at concentrations of 100 to 150µg/ml, they completely inhibited growth. On the basis of results obtained to date, three classes of the new organic sulfur compounds being tested offer promise as sources of potentially useful chemotherapeutic agents. These classes, which differ widely in structure, are as follows: the benzyl decylaminoethyl disulfides, the acyl disulfides, and the trithiopercarbamates.This investigation was supported by Public Health Service Research Grant AI-03524 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.     

Herbicide spray and frit fly attack on oats

Zusammenfassung Am 11. April gesäter Hafer (Sun II und Eagle) wurde am 12. Mai mit dem Herbizid CMPP gespritzt, zu einer Zeit, als Fritfliegen im Bestand vorhanden waren. Das Herbizid hatte keine Wirkung auf das Verhalten oder die Sterblichkeit der Fritfliegen.     

Influence of rhizodeposition under elevated CO2 on plant nutrition and soil organic matter

Atmospheric CO₂ concentrations can influence ecosystem carbon storage through net primary production (NPP), soil carbon storage, or both. In assessing the potential for carbon storage in terrestrial ecosystems under elevated CO₂, both NPP and processing of soil organic matter (SOM), as well as the multiple links between them, must be examined. Within this context, both the quantity and quality of carbon flux from roots to soil are important, since roots produce specialized compounds that enhance nutrient acquisition (affecting NPP), and since the flux of organic compounds from roots to soil fuels soil microbial activity (affecting processing of SOM).From the perspective of root physiology, a technique is described which uses genetically engineered bacteria to detect the distribution and amount of flux of particular compounds from single roots to non-sterile soils. Other experiments from several labs are noted which explore effects of elevated CO₂ on root acid phosphatase, phosphomonoesterase, and citrate production, all associated with phosphorus nutrition. From a soil perspective, effects of elevated CO₂ on the processing of SOM developed under a C4 grassland but planted with C3 California grassland species were examined under low (unamended) and high (amended with 20 g m^–2 NPK) nutrients; measurements of soil atmosphere 13C combined with soil respiration rates show that during vegetative growth in February, elevated CO₂ decreased respiration of carbon from C4 SOM in high nutrient soils but not in unamended soils.This emphasis on the impacts of carbon loss from roots on both NPP and SOM processing will be essential to understanding terrestrial ecosystem carbon storage under changing atmospheric CO₂ concentrations.Abbreviations SOM soil organic matter - NPP net primary productivity - NEP net ecosystem productivity - PNPP p-nitrophenyl phosphate     

The Arabidopsis MALE STERILITY 2 protein shares similarity with reductases in elongation/condensation complexes

The Arabidopsis thaliana MALE STERILITY 2 ( MS2 ) gene product is involved in male gametogenesis. The first abnormalities in pollen development of ms2 mutants are seen at the stage in microsporogenesis when microspores are released from tetrads. Expression of the MS2 gene is observed in tapetum of wild-type flowers at, and shortly after, the release of microspores from tetrads. The MS2 promoter controls GUS expression at a comparable stage in the tapetum of transgenic tobacco containing an MS2 promoter–GUS fusion. The occasional pollen grains produced by mutant ms2 plants have very thin pollen walls. They are also sensitive to acetolysis treatment, which is a test for the presence of an exine layer. The MS2 gene product shows sequence similarity to a jojoba protein that converts wax fatty acids to fatty alcohols. A possible function of the MS2 protein as a fatty acyl reductase in the formation of pollen wall substances is discussed.     

Some effects of chlorambucil on nuclear protein phosphorylation in the yoshida ascites sarcoma

The ability of nuclei, isolated from Yoshida ascites sarcoma cells, to phosphorylate nuclear proteins in the presence of [γ-³²P] ATP has been investigated. Comparisons were made between a strain sensitive to the effects of the alkylating agent, chlorambucil, with a corresponding resistant strain both before and after drug-treatment of tumour-bearing animals.There was no gross quantitative differences between the drug-sensitive and -resistant untreated cells but treatment resulted in increased levels in the sensitive strain.Qualitative differences were seen before treatment in the phosphorylation pattern of the tris-saline-soluble nuclear sap fraction. The high molecular weight species in the fraction from sensitive cells showed phosphorylations which were absent, or present at very low levels, in the corresponding fraction from drug-resistant cells.Changes were observed in the tris-saline-soluble and non-histone protein fractions from drug-sensitive cells following treatment of tumour-bearing animals. Only minor alterations in patterns of phosphorylation were seen in fractions from drug-resistant cells.     

Expression of interferon-beta during the triggering phase of macrophage cytocidal activation. Evidence for an autocrine/paracrine role in the regulation of this state.

The expression of cytocidal activity is induced by the sequential interaction of macrophages with a priming stimulus, such as interferon (IFN)alpha, -beta, or -gamma, and a triggering stimulus, such as poly(I.C) or lipopolysaccharide. However, most triggering stimuli are also capable of inducing IFN expression. This suggested to us the possibility that in addition to its role in initially priming macrophages for cytocidal activity, IFN may also be expressed during the triggering stage where it may potentially contribute to the regulation of cytocidal activity. We have explored this question by (i) attempting to dissociate IFN-inducing activity from triggering activity with a variety of structurally related and charge-related polyanions; (ii) determining if macrophages express IFN during the triggering stage; and (iii) questioning if IFN produced during the triggering stage contributes to the regulation of cytocidal activation. Exposure of unprimed macrophages to a triggering concentration of poly(I.C) alone failed to induce IFN beta expression. However, exposure of IFN beta-primed cells to poly(I.C) dramatically increased the expression of IFN beta mRNA. Priming with IFN gamma was likewise found to increase the expression of IFN beta mRNA in response to a triggering concentration of polyribonucleotides. Three approaches were adopted to ascertain if the increased expression of IFN beta contributed to cytocidal activation. First, macrophages derived from strains of mice which differ in their susceptibility to IFN induction by poly(I.C) were primed with IFN beta, washed, and triggered with poly(I.C). Under these conditions, macrophages derived from stain B10.A(2R), which are hyporesponsive to poly(I.C) in terms of IFN induction, also showed a diminished capacity to express Bf, a marker of cytocidal activation. Second, exposure of IFN-primed macrophages to poly(I.C) in the presence of anti-IFN alpha/beta antibody was found to reduce substantially the synthesis of NO2/NO3, an alternative marker of macrophage cytocidal activation. Third, exposure of IFN-primed macrophages to the calcium ionophores ionomycin or A23187, which do not induce the production of IFN beta during triggering, led to an abbreviated expression of Bf compared with stimuli that induce IFN beta expression such as poly(I.C). However, the capacity to synthesize Bf in response to A23187 was partially reconstituted when macrophages were triggered with the ionophore in the continuous presence of IFN beta. Collectively, these data show that IFN beta is expressed during the triggering stage of macrophage cytocidal activation and suggest that it plays an important and previously unsuspected role in the expression of this state.     

Transmembrane-mediated changes in [Ca2+] are involved in the signaling pathway leading to macrophage cytocidal differentiation: implications of localized changes in intracellular [Ca2+] and of interferon priming on Ca2+ utilization.

Macrophage cytocidal activation requires the sequential impingement on the macrophage of a priming stimulus (interferon [IFN] alpha, beta, or gamma) and a triggering stimulus (such as polyinosinic acid:polycytidylic acid [poly [I:C]] or bacterial lipopolysaccharide). The mechanism of progression from the IFN-primed state to the cytocidal state is poorly understood. By quantifying the level of expression of a gene product (complement component factor B [Bf]) associated with cytocidal activation and through the use of phenotypically distinct populations of macrophages (unprimed and IFN-primed), we have investigated the functional necessity of changes in intracellular concentration of free calcium ions ([Ca2+]i) in signaling the transition from the primed to the cytocidal state. Elevating the [Ca2+]i by incubation of unprimed macrophages with the calcium ionophore, ionomycin, failed to induce the expression of Bf. By contrast, Bf was expressed at high levels when IFN-primed macrophages were exposed to ionomycin, suggesting that priming induced within the macrophages the capacity to respond to a nonspecific change in [Ca2+]i. Quantification of the [Ca2+]i in response to exposure to ionomycin revealed an initial transient elevation, followed by a secondary sustained component. No differences in these changes were observed between unprimed and IFN-primed macrophages. We therefore questioned if changes in [Ca2+]i were also implicated in the transition between the primed and the cytocidal state using the ligand, poly [I:C]. In contrast to ionomycin, incubation of IFN-primed macrophages with poly [I:C] did not sustain measurable increases in [Ca2+]i, yet fully stimulated the transition from the IFN primed to the cytocidal state. However, incubation of IFN-primed macrophages with poly [I:C] in the presence of 1) a Ca2+/ethylene glycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid buffer calculated to clamp the extracellular concentration of free calcium ions to a value approximately equal to the resting [Ca2+]i; 2) the calcium channel blocker verapamil; or 3) the intracellular Ca2+ antagonists (W-7, W-13, and TMB-8) substantially inhibited the induction of Bf. Collectively, these data support the following conclusions. First, that changes in [Ca2+]i comprise an important element in the induction of progression from the IFN-primed to the cytocidal state. Second, the failure to detect global changes in [Ca2+]i in response to the ligand, poly [I:C], suggests that changes in [Ca2+]i or Ca2+ movement may occur in either a spatially restricted or in an asynchronous cyclical fashion and are not detected by population fluorescence measurements. Third, the source of the relevant Ca2+ is extracellular. Fourth, our findings suggest that priming influences macrophage functional responses at a locus that is distal to the changes in [Ca2+]i, thereby potentially allowing signaling processes to be utilized to initiate different cellular responses.