European brown hare syndrome in free-ranging European brown and mountain hares from Switzerland.

From 1997 to 2000, complete necropsy and histopathologic investigations were performed on 157 free-ranging European brown hares (Lepus europaeus) found dead throughout Switzerland. Organ samples of all these individuals (157 livers and 107 spleens available) were tested for European brown hare syndrome virus (EBHSV)-antigen by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test kit. Furthermore, 60 additional blood samples were tested for antibodies against EBHSV by ELISA. In addition, liver samples of 87 free-ranging mountain hares (Lepus timidus) hunted in 1996 were tested for EBHSV-antigen. In two European brown hares from southern Switzerland lesions suggestive of changes induced by EBHSV were present, and high titers of EBHSV-antigen were detected in both liver and spleen samples of these animals. Based on negative staining electron microscopy investigations of liver and spleen homogenates, we observed calicivirus in one antigen-positive hare. Low EBHSV-antigen titers were found in three additional European brown hares from central and western Switzerland, but EBHS-lesions were absent. Antibodies against EBHSV were not detected in any of the sera of European brown hares, and EBHSV-antigen was not found in the samples of mountain hares. This is the first report of EBHS in European brown hares from Switzerland.     

Axial coordination of ferric Aplysia myoglobin

Resonance Raman spectra of ferric Aplysia myoglobin in the ligand-free and the azide-bound forms have been studied over a wide pH range to determine the coordination states of the heme iron atom. In the hydroxide form at high pH (approximately 9) the iron is six-coordinate and is in a high/low spin equilibrium. As the pH is lowered below the acid/alkaline transition (pKa = 7.5), the heme becomes five-coordinate. When the pH is lowered even further no other changes in the resonance Raman spectrum are detected; thus, the heme remains five-coordinate down to pH 4, the lowest value studied. For ferric azide-bound Aplysia myoglobin, the iron is six-coordinate in a high/low spin equilibrium at all pH values (4.8-9). These data indicate (i) that the unusual reactivity toward azide previously observed at neutral pH is indeed related to the absence of a coordinated water molecule, and (ii) that causes other than the heme coordination are responsible for the spectral differences and the ligand-binding kinetics differences observed below pH 6.     

Changes in the structure of B A chromosomes in maize

Summary A class of mosaic endospersm involving the marker Su _I was observed among the progeny of individuals hyperploid for the chromosome B ⁴ and genetically analyzed. The exceptional individuals showing mosaic endosperm were found when the hyperploid material was used as pollen source. While in some cases mosaicism was limited to the endosperm tissue, with no apparent consequences in the embryo, in others the mosaicism was transmitted to the progeny, which showed changes in the structure of the B ⁴ chromosome, with the formation of unstable chromosomes whose genetic behaviour was similar to that of ring chromosomes. This interpretation was cytologically confirmed. In other cases the B ⁴ chromosome analyzed in mosaic endosperm individuals underwent altered transmission frequencies or loss, suggesting that its original structure had been modified by breakage-fusion-bridge cycles. The changes in this chromosome revealed by the mosaic phenotype are discussed in relation to the original structure of the B chromosome and the B ⁴ hyperploid condition.The author dedicates the present paper to Prof. Marcus M. Rhoades with esteem and gratitude.     

Isocyanide binding kinetics to monomeric hemoproteins. A study on the ligand partition between solvent and heme pocket.

The kinetics of methyl-, ethyl-, iso-propyl-, and ter-butyl-isocyanide binding to Aplysia limacina myoglobin (distal His----Lys) and the isolated beta chains from hemoglobin Zurich (distal His----Arg) have been investigated by flash photolysis at various temperatures above 0 degrees C. Sperm whale (Physter catodon) myoglobin and the isolated beta chains from normal adult hemoglobin have been used as references. In most reaction systems investigated the apparent extent of photolysis increases with temperature. For sperm whale myoglobin and the normal beta chains the increase is of the same magnitude and not correlated to the type of ligand used. On the contrary, for the two proteins lacking the distal histidine, the phenomenon is dependent on the size of the alkyl side chain of the ligand. The results, analyzed on the basis of the multibarrier model (Austin, R.H., K.W. Beeson, L. Eisenstein, H. Frauenfelder, and I.C. Gunsalus, 1975, Biochemistry, 16:5355-5373), suggest that the partition of the ligand molecules between the solvent and the heme pocket, occurring during the photolysis process, is primarily determined by interactions between the ligand and residues in the heme cavity rather than by diffusion through the protein matrix.     

A comparative approach to protein-and ligand-dependence of the Root effect for fish haemoglobins

Ligand-binding equilibria, kinetics and (13)C n.m.r. spectra of bound (13)CO, of the haemoglobins from two fishes that are very distant on the evolutionary scale, i.e. the fourth haemoglobin component from Salmo irideus and the single component from Osteoglossum bicirrhosum, were studied. The C-terminal sequence was also determined for the haemoglobin from Osteoglossum. The results show that (i) the C-terminal residues of both chains are not directly responsible for the characteristic heterotropic effect known as Root effect, since for both fish haemoglobins these residues are identical with those of human haemoglobins. (ii) In all haemoglobins characterized by the Root effect a dependence of the (13)CO n.m.r. resonances on pH is observed. However, the extent of the shift(s) depends on the particular protein, and is probably the result of a combination of both tertiary and quaternary conformational changes. (iii) Both haemoglobins from trout and Osteoglossum manifest a functional heterogeneity between the two types of chains in the tetramer, which increases with proton activity. For CO, the effect is very small for trout haemoglobin IV, and very marked for Osteoglossum haemoglobin; for O(2) strongly heterogeneous binding curves were obtained at approx. pH6.2 with both haemoglobins. (iv) Estimations of the relative values of the affinity constants for the alpha and beta chains in the tetramer were obtained for both haemoglobins from (13)CO n.m.r. spectra at low fractional saturation. On the basis of these findings the molecular mechanism underlying the Root effect is discussed.     

RNAIII-inhibiting peptide improves efficacy of clinically used antibiotics in a murine model of staphylococcal sepsis

RNAIII-inhibiting peptide (RIP, YSPWTNF-NH2) is a quorum-sensing peptide inhibitor that prevents Staphylococcus aureus toxin production and biofilm formation. A mouse sepsis model was used to test the efficacy of RIP alone or in combination with conventional antibiotics in suppressing S. aureus-induced sepsis. Mice were injected intravenously with 3.0x10(6)CFU of S. aureus ATCC 25923 or with 3.0x10(6)CFU of S. aureus strain Smith diffuse. All animals were randomized to receive intravenously isotonic sodium chloride solution as a control, or 20 mg/kg RIP alone or combined with 20 mg/kg cefazolin, 10 mg/kg imipenem, or 10 mg/kg vancomycin immediately or 6 h after bacterial challenge. Main outcome measures were bacteremia and lethality. All compounds reduced lethality when compared to controls. Although, in general combined-treated groups had significant lower bacterial counts when associated to singly-treated groups only the combination between RIP and vancomycin with respect to cefazolin gave a statistically significant decrease in the lethality rate. Lowest lethality rates (10%) and bacteremia (<10(2)CFU/ml) were obtained when RIP was administered in combination with vancomycin. Because RIP can be synergistic with current antibiotic therapies and help to reduce S. aureus exotoxins production, it can be considered a promising agent to associate with antibiotics for further clinical research into treatment of sepsis.     

Inhibition or knock out of Inducible nitric oxide synthase result in resistance to bleomycin-induced lung injury

Background

In the present study, by comparing the responses in wild-type mice (WT) and mice lacking (KO) the inducible (or type 2) nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), we investigated the role played by iNOS in the development of on the lung injury caused by bleomycin administration. When compared to bleomycin-treated iNOSWT mice, iNOSKO mice, which had received bleomycin, exhibited a reduced degree of the (i) lost of body weight, (ii) mortality rate, (iii) infiltration of the lung with polymorphonuclear neutrophils (MPO activity), (iv) edema formation, (v) histological evidence of lung injury, (vi) lung collagen deposition and (vii) lung Transforming Growth Factor beta1 (TGF-β1) expression.

Methods

Mice subjected to intratracheal administration of bleomycin developed a significant lung injury. Immunohistochemical analysis for nitrotyrosine revealed a positive staining in lungs from bleomycin-treated iNOSWT mice.

Results

The intensity and degree of nitrotyrosine staining was markedly reduced in tissue section from bleomycin-iNOSKO mice. Treatment of iNOSWT mice with of {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"GW274150","term_id":"282552565","term_text":"GW274150"}}GW274150, a novel, potent and selective inhibitor of iNOS activity (5 mg/kg i.p.) also significantly attenuated all of the above indicators of lung damage and inflammation.

Conclusion

Taken together, our results clearly demonstrate that iNOS plays an important role in the lung injury induced by bleomycin in the mice.     

Light and oxygenic photosynthesis: energy dissipation as a protection mechanism against photo-oxidation

Efficient photosynthesis is of fundamental importance for plant survival and fitness. However, in oxygenic photosynthesis, the complex apparatus responsible for the conversion of light into chemical energy is susceptible to photodamage. Oxygenic photosynthetic organisms have therefore evolved several protective mechanisms to deal with light energy. Rapidly inducible non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) is a short-term response by which plants and eukaryotic algae dissipate excitation energy as heat. This review focuses on recent advances in the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms underlying this protective quenching pathway in higher plants.     

Urocortin 1 and Urocortin 2 induce macrophage apoptosis via CRFR2

Macrophages undergo apoptosis as a mechanism of regulating their activation and the inflammatory reaction. Macrophages express the Corticotropin-Releasing Factor Receptor-2 (CRFR2) the endogenous agonists of which, the urocortins, are also present at the site of inflammation. We have found that urocortins induced macrophage apoptosis in a dose- and time-dependent manner via CRFR2. In contrast to lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced apoptosis, the pro-apoptosis pathway activated by urocortins involved the pro-apoptotic Bax and Bad proteins and not nitric oxide, JNK and p38MAPK characteristic of LPS. In conclusion, our data suggest that endogenous CRFR2 ligands exert an anti-inflammatory effect via induction of macrophage apoptosis.