The anal sac secretion of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes); its chemistry and microbiology. A comparison with the anal sac secretion of the lion (Panthera leo)

Phenylacetic, 3-phenylpropionic, $\text{p}$-hydroxyphenylacetic and 3 ($\text{p}$-hydroxyphenyl) propionic acids together with the series of C₂ to C₆ saturated fatty acids previously reported in the anal sac secretion of the red fox ($\text{Vulpes vulpes}$) are identified as constituents of the anal sac secretion of the lion (Panthera leo). All these compounds are also observed in the anal sac secretion of the red fox using gas chromatography. The aerobic microflora of red fox and domestic dog ($\text{Canis familiaris}$) anal sac secretion samples invariably consisted predominantly of $\text{Streptococcus faecium}$ and $\text{Streptococcus faecalis}$. The hypothesis that the secretion volatiles so far identified may be microbiologically produced is examined.     

Effects of Δ8- and Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol on experimentally induced seizures

Effects of Δ⁸- and Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ⁸- and Δ⁹-THC) on three experimentally induced seizure models, i.e., audiogenic seizure (AS) test, maximal electroshock seizure (MES) test and pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced seizure test were determined in the audiogenic rat. Both tetrahydrocannabinols possess a dose-related anticonvulsant effect against AS, MES and PTZ-induced maximal seizure. Although anticonvulsant potencies do not significantly differ, Δ⁸THC is three times more neurotoxic than Δ⁹THC. In addition, both THC's are without effect on minimal seizure and lethality induced by PTZ. Furthermore, the low protective indexes (TD50/ED50) determined in this study suggest that Δ⁸ and Δ⁹ THC may have poor therapeutic potentials as antiepileptic drugs.     

The structure and biological activities of the widely used protein kinase inhibitor, H7, differ depending on the commercial source.

The protein kinase inhibitor 1-(5'-isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine (H7) has been widely used because of its ability to inhibit cyclic AMP- and cyclic GMP-dependent protein kinases (PKA and PKG) and protein kinase C (PKC) at roughly equal concentrations; it is much less potent on other kinases. Previous studies in other laboratories have found that H7 samples from different commercial sources have different properties in cellular studies and protein kinase C inhibition assays. We now report the results of chemical and biological tests which show that H7 samples also differ in chemical structure, again depending on their commercial source. Chemical synthesis and NMR spectroscopy indicate that H7 from most suppliers has the structure originally proposed for H7, while "H7" from another supplier is in fact its 3-methylpiperazine positional isomer.     

Fluorescence photobleaching recovery in solutions of labeled actin.

We have demonstrated that the technique of fluorescence photobleaching recovery (FPR) can be used to examine the state of a single component in complex self-assembling macromolecular systems. Polymerization of actin, initiated by addition of salt or Mg+2 to a low-ionic-strength solution of G-actin, has been observed by sequential measurement of FPR with the aid of fluorescein-labeled actin. Solutions of actin which had been labeled using 5-iodoacetamido fluorescein (5-IAF) showed anomalous recovery of fluorescence above the initial value, which indicates a photoinduced increase in local polymerization. No such anomaly was observed with actin that had been labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC). The FPR data are directly interpretable in terms of the fraction of labeled protein that is immobilized in the supramolecular assembly and in terms of the average diffusion coefficient of the mobile fraction. Our data are consistent with the "treadmill" model of actin polymerization, in that they show that actin is present under polymerizing conditions either as a high polymer or as monomer or low oligomer. We believe that the FPR technique can be applied to the study of many types of reconstituted motile or cytoskeletal systems in vitro or in vivo.     

Electrokinetic study of the reactions of peritoneal macrophages and eosinophils with IgG immune complexes

Electrophoretic light scattering (laser Doppler electrophoresis) has been employed to study the effects of guinea pig IgG immune complexes on the electrophoretic mobility distributions of guinea pig resident peritoneal cells. The resident population of cells is composed of macrophages (approximately 75%) and eosinophils (approximately 25%). These cells were separated according to the well-established method of Boyum. Populations of resident macrophages, eosinophils, and the unfractionated samples were incubated with soluble immune complexes, antigen alone, or antibody alone. The mean mobility of the resident macrophages decreased approximately 60% when incubated in the presence of immune complexes, although no effect could be discerned in the presence of antigen or antibody alone. The width of the resulting macrophage mobility distribution was larger than that of the control distributions, with a broad shoulder on the high-mobility side, indicating a heterogeneous response of the macrophages to the immune complexes. Eosinophils react in two distinct fashions. One population of eosinophils is present near the control experiments. The second population reacts in a manner very similar to that of macrophages. This suggest that at least two populations of eosinophils are present in the unstimulated guinea pig peritoneal cavity. Results that are intermediate between these two cases are found when unfractionated samples are studied.     

Electrophoretic mobilities and diffusion coefficients of hemoglobin at high pH.

Diffusion studies by photon correlation of scattered laser light confirm the dissociation of the tetrameric form of human carboxyhemoglobin to dimers above pH 10 and provide new estimates of the subunit dissociation equilibrium constants in this pH range. Electrophoretic light-scattering experiments under the same conditions reveal that the electrophoretic mobilities of tetramers and dimers are indistinguishable to within instrumental resolution (ca. 7% in these experiments). The data imply an increase of the electrical charge on the dimer of at least 2.8 to 4.4 net negative charges upon dissociation. Mechanisms for the accumulation of negative charge by the dimer upon dissociation of the tetramer are proposed.     

Biomarker of food intake for assessing the consumption of dairy and egg products

Dairy and egg products constitute an important part of Western diets as they represent an excellent source of high-quality proteins, vitamins, minerals and fats. Dairy and egg products are highly diverse and their associations with a range of nutritional and health outcomes are therefore heterogeneous. Such associations are also often weak or debated due to the difficulty in establishing correct assessments of dietary intake. Therefore, in order to better characterize associations between the consumption of these foods and health outcomes, it is important to identify reliable biomarkers of their intake. Biomarkers of food intake (BFIs) provide an accurate measure of intake, which is independent of the memory and sincerity of the subjects as well as of their knowledge about the consumed foods. We have, therefore, conducted a systematic search of the scientific literature to evaluate the current status of potential BFIs for dairy products and BFIs for egg products commonly consumed in Europe. Strikingly, only a limited number of compounds have been reported as markers for the intake of these products and none of them have been sufficiently validated. A series of challenges hinders the identification and validation of BFI for dairy and egg products, in particular, the heterogeneous composition of these foods and the lack of specificity of the markers identified so far. Further studies are, therefore, necessary to validate these compounds and to discover new candidate BFIs. Untargeted metabolomic strategies may allow the identification of novel biomarkers, which, when taken separately or in combination, could be used to assess the intake of dairy and egg products.     

Crystal structure of the glycosyltransferase SnogD from the biosynthetic pathway of nogalamycin in Streptomyces nogalater

The glycosyltransferase SnogD from Streptomyces?nogalater transfers a nogalamine moiety to the metabolic intermediate 3',4'-demethoxynogalose-1-hydroxynogalamycinone during the final steps of biosynthesis of the aromatic polyketide nogalamycin. The crystal structure of recombinant SnogD, as an apo-enzyme and with a bound nucleotide, 2-deoxyuridine-5'-diphosphate, was determined to 2.6?? resolution. Reductive methylation of SnogD was crucial for reproducible preparation of diffraction quality crystals due to creation of an additional intermolecular salt bridge between methylated lysine residue Lys384 and Glu374* from an adjacent molecule in the crystal lattice. SnogD is a dimer both in solution and in the crystal, and the enzyme subunit displays a fold characteristic of the GT-B family of glycosyltransferases. Binding of the nucleotide is associated with rearrangement of two active-site loops. Site-directed mutagenesis shows that two active-site histidine residues, His25 and His301, are critical for the glycosyltransferase activities of SnogD both in?vivo and in?vitro. The crystal structures and the functional data are consistent with a role for His301 in binding of the diphosphate group of the sugar donor substrate, and a function of His25 as a catalytic base in the glycosyl transfer reaction. Database The atomic coordinates and structure factors have been deposited with the RCSB Protein Data Bank under accession numbers 4AMB, 4AMG and 4AN4 Structured digital abstract ? snogD?and?snogD?bind?by?x-ray crystallography?(View Interaction:?1,?2).