Analysis of water in Autonomous Biological Systems (ABS) samples.

Several soluble components, peptidase and amino acids, and carbon isotopic ratio in the water retrieved from flight experiments of Autonomous Biological Systems (ABS) as well as ground control samples are analyzed to interpret the condition, dynamics, material balance of the ABS ecosystems. Organic carbons in flight samples were found to be more abundant compared with the control ones, which suggested the uniform ecosystems in low gravity might easily dissolve more soluble components. The Mir-1997 flight sample showed higher C/N ratio probably because of the dissolution of carbon-rich plant materials.     

Further study on 1/f fluctuations observed in central single neurons during REM sleep

Recently, 1/f fluctuations have been discovered in the single-unit activity of mesencephalic reticular formation (MRF) neurons during REM sleep. In a previous paper, such behavior could satisfyingly be interpreted on the basis of the clustering Poisson process. The question of applicability of this model to other MRF neurons remained unanswered. The present paper reports on 1/f fluctuations in 12 MRF neurons all of which can satisfyingly be modeled by the clustering Poisson process.     

The Nucleotide Sequence of Human Acylamino Acid-Releasing Enzyme

The nucleotide sequence of a cDNA coding for the human acylaminoacid-releasing enzyme (AARE, also known as acylpeptide hydrolase)[EC 3.4.19.1] subunit has been determined. The amino acid sequenceof human AARE subunit deduced from its cDNA nucleotide sequenceshowed a high degree of identity (91.5%) with both the correspondingproteins from the pig and the rat. The AARE cDNA shows 99.2%identity with a 3.3 kb cDNA transcribed from a locus (DNF15S2)on the short arm of human chromosome 3, whose deletion is associatedwith small cell lung cancer, taking into consideration thatthe sequence of the 3.3-kb cDNA previously reported was causedby misreading.     

A calcyclin-associated protein is a newly identified member of the Ca2+/phospholipid-binding proteins, annexin family.

A calcyclin-associated protein with an apparent molecular weight of 50,000 (CAP-50) was purified from rabbit lung. The procedure included ammonium sulfate precipitation, anion and cation ion-exchange, and calcyclin affinity chromatographies. Interestingly, partial amino acid sequences of lysyl-endpeptidase-digested fragments indicated that CAP-50 was a member of the Ca2+/phospholipid-binding proteins, the annexin family. The sequence of a proteolytic peptide with Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease on NH2-terminal region is not homologous with any other annexin family proteins. Phospholipid binding studies showed that CAP-50 bound to phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, and phosphatidic acid-containing vesicles, in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner. In the presence of Ca2+/calcyclin, CAP-50 formed a complex with calcyclin and bound to the PS-containing vesicles. The apparent Kd value of calcyclin for CAP-50 was calculated to be 1.61 x 10(-6) M. Zero-length cross-linking studies indicated that 1 mol of CAP-50 bound to an equimolar unit of calcyclin. CAP-50 inhibited the phospholipase A2 activity, dose-dependently (IC50 = 0.2 microM), however, calcyclin did not alter the inhibitory effect. With the 125I-calcyclin gel overlay method, calcyclin bound tightly to CAP-50 in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner after sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These results suggest that rabbit lung CAP-50 is a newly identified member of the annexin family. Ca2+/calcyclin apparently regulates the function of CAP-50 on cytosolic face of the plasma membrane.     

Cell-division inhibitor produced by a killer strain of cellular slime mold Polysphondylium pallidum

The killer strain CK-8 of cellular slime mold Polysphondylium pallidum produces a cell-division inhibitor, in addition to a killer factor. This inhibitor represses cell division of many strains and species of cellular slime molds, except CK-8 itself and its complementary mating-type strain. It is sensitive to both heat and trypsin, and capable of binding to Con A. Its apparent molecular mass is more than 100 kDa. Repression of cell division by this inhibitor is reversed by trypsin treatment of the cells.     

Characterization of hepatitis C virus replication in cloned cells obtained from a human T-cell leukemia virus type 1-infected cell line, MT-2.

We recently found that a human T-cell leukemia virus type 1-infected cell line, MT-2, could support the replication of hepatitis C virus (HCV) (N. Kato, T. Nakazawa, T. Mizutani, and K. Shimotohno, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 206:863-869, 1995). In order to develop a culture system in which HCV replicates more efficiently, we examined the efficiency of HCV replication in cloned MT-2 cell lines by the limiting dilution method. Consequently, we obtained five clones in which intracellular positive-stranded HCV RNA could be detected until at least 21 days postinoculation (p.i.), as opposed to 15 days p.i. in uncloned MT-2 cells. MT-2C, one of the five clones which supported HCV replication up to 30 days p.i., was used for further characterization of HCV replication. Semiquantitative analysis of HCV by PCR revealed that RNA synthesis in infected cells increased after inoculation, reached a maximum level at 4 days p.i., and maintained this level until at least 11 days p.i. The 5' untranslated region of negative-stranded HCV RNA was also detected in the infected cells by two different methods with strand specificity. These results suggest that HCV replicated and multiplied in the MT-2C cells. HCV-infected MT-2C cells that were treated with antibiotics, such as G418 and hygromycin B, sustained HCV RNA for a longer period than did untreated cells. We demonstrated inhibitory effects on HCV replication by an antisense oligonucleotide complementary to the HCV core encoding region and by interferon-alpha. Furthermore, cell-free viral transmission was demonstrated by this culture system. These results suggest that our cell culture system will be useful for studying the mechanism of HCV replication, for screening antiviral agents, and for developing HCV vaccines.     

Essential role of the PSI–LHCII supercomplex in photosystem acclimation to light and/or heat conditions by state transitions

Light and temperature affect state transitions through changes in the plastoquinone (PQ) redox state in photosynthetic organisms. We demonstrated that light and/or heat treatment induced preferential photosystem (PS) I excitation by binding light-harvesting complex II (LHCII) proteins. The photosystem of wheat was in state 1 after dark overnight treatment, wherein PQ was oxidized and most of LHCII was not bound to PSI. At the onset of the light treatment [25 °C in the light (100 µmol photons m^?2 s^?1)], two major LHCIIs, Lhcb1 and Lhcb2 were phosphorylated, and the PSI–LHCII supercomplex formed within 5 min, which coincided with an increase in the PQ oxidation rate. Heat treatment at 40 °C of light-adapted wheat led to further LHCII protein phosphorylation of, resultant cyclic electron flow promotion, which was accompanied by ultrafast excitation of PSI and structural changes of thylakoid membranes, thereby protecting PSII from heat damage. These results suggest that LHCIIs are required for the functionality of wheat plant PSI, as it keeps PQ oxidized by regulating photochemical electron flow, thereby helping acclimation to environmental changes.     

Novel mutations of ABCC6 gene in Japanese patients with Angioid streaks

Angioid streaks (AS) are eye abnormalities caused by breaks in Bruch’s membrane. The condition is often associated with pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE). The ATP-binding cassette, sub-family C (CFTR/MRP), member 6 (ABCC6) is reported to be the causal gene for PXE, although there have been no reports on whether the ABCC6 gene is the causal gene for AS. The aims of this study are to isolate the causal mutations for AS using a haplotype-based case-control study. We genotyped 54 Japanese AS patients and 150 controls for 5 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). A simple association study using each SNP and a haplotype-based case-control study were performed. Twelve patients with special haplotypes for AS were selected, and were then subjected to gene sequencing. Six variants were successfully identified as causal mutations for AS (p.R419Q, p.E422K, c.2542delG, Del_Exon23, c.3774-3775insC and p.E1427K), and 4 of these were novel. This method can be applied to both identifying susceptibility variants of multifactorial diseases and isolating mutations in single-gene diseases.