A 340 kDa hyaluronic acid secreted by human vascular smooth muscle cells regulates their proliferation and migration

The formation of atherosclerotic lesions is characterized by invasion of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) into the tunica intima of the arterial wall and subsequently by increased proliferation of VSMC, a process apparently restricted to the intimal layer of blood vessels. Both events are preceded by the pathological overexpression of several growth factors, such as platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) which is a potent mitogen for VSMC and can induce their chemotaxis. PDGF is generally not expressed in the normal artery but it is upregulated in atherosclerotic lesions. We have previously shown that PDGF-BB specifically stimulates proliferating VSMC to secrete a 340 kDa hyaluronic acid (HA-340). Here, we present evidence regarding the biological functions of this glycan. We observed that HA-340 inhibited the PDGF-induced proliferation of human VSMC in a dose-dependent manner and enhanced the PDGF-dependent invasion of VSMC through a basement membrane barrier. These effects were abolished following treatment of HA-340 with hyaluronidase. The effect of HA-340 on the PDGF-dependent invasion of VSMC coincided with increased secretion of the 72-kDa type IV collagenase by VSMC and was completely blocked by GM6001, a hydroxamic acid inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases. HA-340 did not exert any chemotactic potency, nor did it affect chemotaxis of VSMC along a PDGF gradient. In human atheromatic aortas, we found that HA- 340 is expressed with a negative concentration gradient from the tunica media to the tunica intima and the atheromatic plaque. Our findings suggest that HA-340 may be linked to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, by modulating VSMC proliferation and invasion.      

Protein evolution in different cellular environments: cytochrome b in sharks and mammals

DNA sequences for the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene were determined for 13 species of sharks. Rates and patterns of amino acid replacement are compared for sharks and mammals. Absolute rates of cytochrome b evolution are six times slower in sharks than in mammals. Bivariate plots of the number of nonsynonymous and silent transversions are indistinguishable in the two groups, however, suggesting that the differences in amino acid replacement rates are due primarily to differences in DNA substitution rates. Patterns of amino acid replacement are also similar in the two groups. Conserved and variable regions occur in the same parts of the cytochrome b gene, and there is little evidence that the types of amino acid changes are significantly different between the groups. Similarity in the relative rates and patterns of protein change between the two groups prevails despite dramatic differences in the cellular environments of sharks and mammals. Poor penetrance of physiological differences through to rates of protein evolution provides support for the neutral theory and suggests that, for cytochrome b, patterns of evolution have been relatively constant throughout much of vertebrate history.      

Characteristics and kinetics of subzero chilling injury in Drosophila embryos.

Drosophila embryos manifest unusually high sensitivity to chilling in that they are killed with increased rapidity by exposure to temperatures between 0 and -25 degrees C in the absence of ice formation. Thus, 50% of 15-h eggs succumb in 35, 4, and 1 h at 0, -9, and -15 degrees C, respectively. The sensitivity becomes substantially greater in embryos at stages of development earlier than 12 h, especially at 3 and 6 h. The killing kinetics at given subzero temperatures between 0 and -25 degrees C are characterized by a shoulder followed by a more-or-less linear decrease in survival with time. The lower the temperature, the shorter the shoulder and the faster the postshoulder decline. The rate of both components follows Arrhenius kinetics, i.e., plots of log rate vs 1/absolute temperature are linear, the slopes being proportional to the activation energy. In both cases the activation energy is high and negative; namely, -46.5 kcal/mol for the shoulder length and -24.7 kcal/mol for the postshoulder inactivation. Negative activation energies are unusual, and according to absolute reaction rate theory, they exist only when the entropy of activation is negative, which suggests that the activated state is more ordered. By combining the duration of the shoulder as a function of time and temperature with the rate of postshoulder inactivation, one can compute survival as a function of temperature for embryos cooled at various rates. For those cooled at less than or equal to 1 degree C/min, the computed curve of survival vs temperature agrees closely with observed survivals. But for embryos cooled at approximately 10 degrees C/min, the drop in survival occurs some 7 to 10 degrees above that computed. Embryos exposed to 0 degree C for greater than 5 min undergo conditioning that renders them more resistant to subsequent exposure to lower temperatures, and those cooled at 10 degrees C/min presumably lack sufficient time at 0 degree C to undergo such conditioning; hence the discrepancy between observed and computed survivals. As a test of the possibility that chilling injury is a consequence of the loss of synchrony of coupled reactions involved in embryological development, embryos were rendered anoxic prior to chilling, a treatment that has been shown by Foe and Alberts to reversibly halt development of early stages. Although anoxia somewhat reduced chilling injury in 6-h eggs, it had no effect on 15-h eggs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Pole cells of Drosophila melanogaster in culture. Normal metabolism, ultrastructure, and functional capabilities.

The metabolism, ultrastructure, and function of mass-isolated pole cells were examined during short-term culture in vitro. In addition to demonstrating that these cells functioned normally in culture, a number of new features of embryonic pole cells were discovered. Cell populations isolated from Renografin density gradients were incubated in medium containing tritiated valine, uridine, or thymidine. Although pole cells incorporated similar amounts of valine into protein as other embryonic cells throughout the first 6 hr in culture, they began to synthesize RNA only after 2 hr in culture. Approximately 30% of the pole cells synthesized DNA in vitro and this synthetic activity occurred largely during the first hour of culture. An ultrastructural analysis of colcemid-treated cells showed that 10% of the pole cells divide shortly after placement in culture. During pole cell culture in vitro, polar granules and nuclear bodies fragment and disperse so that they are eventually not detected in these cells. These changes also occur during pole cell development in vivo. Finally, we have obtained 25 to 33% germ line mosaicism among the fertile adults which were derived from embryos receiving transplantation of isolated pole cells before and after culture in vitro. These results demonstrate that these cells are able to follow their normal developmental program in vitro and are able to give rise to functional germ cells in vivo.     

Scanning electron microscopy of Drosophila melanogaster embryogenesis. II. Gastrulation and segmentation.

The sequence of gastrulation events in Drosophila melanogaster, starting with the cellular blastoderm and culminating in a segmented embryo, have been studied with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Extensive use is made of dissected embryos to illustrate changes taking place within the embryo during gastrulation. During the first 15 min of gastrulation, the mesodermal portion of the germ band is established by the invagination of approximately 1000 cells through the ventral furrow. The primordia for the proctodeum and hindgut are shown to form during early gastrulation. Detailed examination of the surfaces of invaginating primordia shows similarities to other systems and suggests possible underlying mechanisms. Germ band elongation and the formation of the amnioserosa are described. At the time of segmentation, three pairs of rudimentary cephalic appendages develop posterior to the cephalic furrow. Tracheal pits invaginate on all eight abdominal segments and on the second and third thoracic segments. Modifications of the embryonic fate map are discussed.     

Distribution of the molossinus allele of Sry, the testis-determining gene, in wild mice

When the Y chromosome of the laboratory inbred mouse strain C57BL/6 (B6) is replaced by the Y of certain strains of Mus musculus domesticus, testis determination fails and all XY fetuses develop either as hermaphrodites or XY females (XY sex reversal). This suggests the presence of at least two alleles of Sry, the male-determining gene on the Y:M. m. domesticus and B6. The B6 Y chromosome is derived from the Japanese house mouse, M. m. molossinus and therefore carries a molossinus Sry allele. As a first step to determine how the molossinus Sry allele evolved, its distribution pattern was determined in wild mice. The cumulative data of 96 M. musculus samples obtained from 58 geographical locations in Europe, North Africa, and Asia show the molossinus Sry allele is restricted to Japan and the neighboring Asian mainland and confirm that Japanese M. m. molossinus mice were derived in part from a race of M. m. musculus from Korea or Manchuria. Sry polymorphisms, as illustrated by the molossinus Sry allele, can serve as molecular markers for studies on the evolution of wild M. musculus populations and can help determine the role sex determination plays in speciation.      

Evolution of symbiotic bacteria in the distal human intestine

The adult human intestine contains trillions of bacteria, representing hundreds of species and thousands of subspecies. Little is known about the selective pressures that have shaped and are shaping this community's component species, which are dominated by members of the Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes divisions. To examine how the intestinal environment affects microbial genome evolution, we have sequenced the genomes of two members of the normal distal human gut microbiota, Bacteroides vulgatus and Bacteroides distasonis, and by comparison with the few other sequenced gut and non-gut Bacteroidetes, analyzed their niche and habitat adaptations. The results show that lateral gene transfer, mobile elements, and gene amplification have played important roles in affecting the ability of gut-dwelling Bacteroidetes to vary their cell surface, sense their environment, and harvest nutrient resources present in the distal intestine. Our findings show that these processes have been a driving force in the adaptation of Bacteroidetes to the distal gut environment, and emphasize the importance of considering the evolution of humans from an additional perspective, namely the evolution of our microbiomes.     

Developmental analysis of the torso-like phenotype in Drosophila produced by a maternal-effect locus

The segmental plan of the Drosophila embryo is already established at the blastoderm stage through the action of maternal effect genes which determine the polarity of the embryo and zygotically active genes involved in segmentation. We have analyzed the first example of a group of maternally acting genes which are necessary for establishing the developmental potential of the posterior 25% of the blastoderm. Females, homozygous for the X-linked maternal-effect mutation female sterile(1)Nasrat211 [fs(1)N211], produce embryos, characterized as torso-like, which lack all posterior endodermal derivatives as well as structures characteristic of abdominal segments 8 to 10. In addition, anterior endodermal derivatives are deficient and the absence of pharyngeal musculature causes a collapse of the cephalopharyngeal apparatus. The columnar blastoderm cell layer is defective at the posterior tip below the pole cells in these embryos. This defect, however, is presumably secondary to some abnormal feature of pole cell formation since in double mutants of fs(1)Nasrat211; tudor3 the blastoderm is normal but the embryos still show the torso-like phenotype. In situ hybridization with RNA probes derived from the fushi tarazu gene establishes that the cellular determination of the posterior blastoderm of embryos produced by fs(1)N211 is changed. This represents the first direct demonstration that a maternal-effect mutation alters the spatial distribution of a zygotic gene product involved in the segmental patterning of the embryo.