Localization of the hemagglutinating activity of platelet thrombospondin to a 140 000-dalton thermolytic fragment

The platelet protein thrombospondin (TSP) which is secreted from alpha-granules upon platelet activation agglutinates trypsinized, glutaraldehyde-fixed human erythrocytes. Optimal conditions for the hemagglutinating activity require that both Ca2+ and Mg2+ be present in final concentrations of 2 mM. In the presence of dithiothreitol (i.e., reduction of disulfide bonds), the lectin-like activity decreases in a manner proportional to the extent of reduction of the molecule from its native trimeric configuration into its Mr 180 000 subunits. Proteolysis of purified TSP with thermolysin, which produces discrete domains with the capacity to bind fibrinogen and heparin, also diminishes, but does not abolish, the hemagglutinating activity. Fibrinogen was without effect on hemagglutinating activity while heparin was found to be a potent inhibitor. Other proteoglycans such as hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, keratan sulfate, dermatan sulfate, and heparan sulfate had no effect. That portion of the TSP molecule apparently responsible for the hemagglutinating activity was identified by incubating a thermolytic digest of TSP with red blood cells and then determining which fragment was bound to the cell surface. The binding site resides within a peptide fragment of 140 000 daltons but is absent from an Mr 120 000 fragment derived from the Mr 140 000 fragment. Under the conditions for optimal expression of hemagglutinating activity (i.e., 2 mM MgCl2 and 2 mM CaCl2), this Mr 140 000 fragment was also shown to have heparin binding activity.     

Dielectric behavior of DNA solution at radio and microwave frequencies (at 20 degrees C).

The dielectric constant and conductivity of calf thymus DNA were investigated at frequencies between 0.1 MHz and 70 GHz. This work is to investigate the dielectric properties of DNA in low gigahertz region and also to study whether the dielectric behavior of the water is affected by the presence of highly charged DNA. The results of these measurements indicate the presence of two anomalous dispersions, the one between 1 MHz and 1 GHz and the second one above 1 GHZ. The dispersion at low frequencies is likely to arise from polar groups in the DNA molecule. The relaxation behavior of unbound water in DNA solution is only slightly affected by the presence of DNA at concentrations below 1%.     

Mechanisms of use-dependent block of sodium channels in excitable membranes by local anesthetics

Many local anesthetics promote reduction in sodium current during repetitive stimulation of excitable membranes. Use-, frequency-, and voltage-dependent responses describe patterns of peak INa when pulse width, pulse frequency, and pulse amplitude are varied. Such responses can be viewed as reflecting voltage-sensitive shifts in equilibrium between conducting, unblocked channels and nonconducting, blocked channels. The modulated-receptor hypothesis postulates shifts in equilibrium as the result of a variable-affinity receptor and modified inactivation gate kinetics in drug-complexed channels. An alternative view considers drug blocking in the absence of these two features. We propose that drug binds to a constant-affinity channel receptor where receptor access is regulated by the channel gates. Specifically, we view channel binding sites as guarded by the channel gate conformation, so that unlike receptors where ligands have continuous access, blocking agent access is variable during the course of an action potential. During the course of an action potential, the m and h gates change conformation in response to transmembrane potential. Conducting channels with both gates open leave the binding site unguarded and thus accessible to drug, whereas nonconducting channels, with gates in the closed conformation, act to restrict drug access to unbound receptors and possibly to trap drug in drug-complexed channels. We develop analytical expressions characterizing guarded receptors as "apparently" variable-affinity binding sites and predicting shifts in "apparent" channel inactivation in the hyperpolarizing direction. These results were confirmed with computer simulations. Furthermore, these results are in quantitative agreement with recent investigations of lidocaine binding in cardiac sodium channels.     

A comparison of the effects of different substrata on chondrocyte morphology and the synthesis of collagen types IX and X

Summary Embryonic chick sternal chondrocytes were cultured either within three dimensional gels of type I collagen, type II collagen or agar, or as monolayers on plastic dishes coated with air-dried films of these matrix macromolecules. It was observed that cell shape and cell growth varied markedly between the different culture conditions. Flattened monolayers of cells on plastic or films of type I or type II collagen, proliferated more rapidly and reached a higher final cell density per culture than the more rounded cells found in the cultures on agar films or within three-dimensional gels. Biosynthetic studies demonstrated that in addition to the synthesis of type II collagen, all the cultures were producing collagen types IX and X. Chondrocytes cultured on plastic or films of the different matrix macromolecules all showed a similar expression of types IX and X collagen, independent of whether they displayed a flattened or round cell morphology. In contrast, marked variations in the proportions of the minor collagens, particularly type X collagen, were observed when the cells were cultured within three-dimensional gels. The data suggest that direct interaction of the cell surface with matrix constituents displaying a particular spatial array could be an important aspect in the control of type IX and X collagen expression by chondrocytes. The financial support of the Arthritis & Rheumatism Council and the Medical Research Council is gratefully acknowledged.     

Cyclic regulation of cytokinesis in amphibian eggs

The effects of amphibian egg cytoplasm extracted at different times after activation and during the first four cleavages on cytokinesis were examined. Extracts of artificially activated or fertilized Xenopus or Pleurodeles eggs taken at the time of activation (T = 0) provoked precocious cleavage furrows in Pleurodeles eggs. Between T = 0.25 and T = 0.75 of the first cell cycle, the period corresponding to interphase, an inhibitory effect was found, and the division of injected eggs was delayed up to 30%. After T = 0.75, that is during mitosis, the cleavage induction effect was observed again. These enhancing and inhibitory effects were also found in the two fractions obtained following gel filtration of the cytoplasmic extracts. These experiments support the hypothesis that two antagonistic factors control cytokinesis. The inhibitory factor is active only during interphase, while the positive factor is present during mitosis and appears to regulate cytokinesis.     

The biosynthesis of extracellular-matrix components by bovine retinal endothelial cells displaying distinctive morphological phenotypes.

Previous studies have indicated that the morphology and behaviour of bovine retinal microvessel endothelial cells are influenced by culture conditions in vitro. Data are presented here concerning the biosynthesis of matrix macromolecules by bovine retinal endothelial cells cultured under conditions in which the cells display either the 'cobblestone' or the 'sprouting' phenotype. Newly synthesized matrix proteins were identified by their characteristic electrophoretic mobilities, immunoprecipitation with specific antibodies, susceptibilities to enzymic digestions and chromatographic behaviour. Type IV procollagen was the major collagenous species synthesized by early-passage cells forming a 'cobblestone' monolayer. In contrast, cells displaying the 'sprouting' morphology switched to the predominant synthesis of interstitial fibrillar collagens (types I and III). Fibronectin was synthesized by retinal endothelial cells under all the experimental conditions studied. A non-collagenous glycoprotein of Mr approx. 47,000 was also a major biosynthetic product of these cells. The synthesis of thrombospondin was very much dependent on the nature of the substratum on which the cells were cultured. This glycoprotein was synthesized in large amounts by 'cobblestone' endothelial cells cultured on gelatin-coated dishes, whereas its synthesis was markedly decreased by culturing the cells on collagen gels, and the protein appeared to be absent when the cells were plated within collagen gels ('sprouting' cells). Late-passage retinal cells synthesized predominantly type I procollagen, variable amounts of type III procollagen and only traces of type IV procollagen, irrespective of whether the cells displayed a 'cobblestone' or 'sprouting' morphology.     

Feline cytotoxic immune mechanisms against virus-associated leukemia and fibrosarcoma

Humoral and cellular cytotoxic immune mechanisms of cats were compared against feline leukemia virus (FeLV)- and feline sarcoma virus (FeSV)-transformed cells. The groups of animals studied were nonexposed control cats; FeLV-infected immune or viremic tumor-bearing cats; FeSV-inoculated tumor progressor or regressor cats, and cats immunized with FeSV-transformed autochthonous fibroblasts (ATF). Sera containing complement-dependent antibodies (CDA), which lysed FeLV-producer lymphoma lines, had no cytotoxic effects when tested against FeLV-producer FeSV-transformed fibroblasts. Sera with lytic CDA activity were also tested for antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxic (ADCC) effects with peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from nonimmune cats. No ADCC activity was detected against either lymphoid or fibroblast target lines. To demonstrate that cat PBL contained ADCC effector cells, antibody-coated murine target cells were employed and positive results obtained. Natural killer (NK) assays were performed using PBL from normal and tumor-bearing cats. Cytotoxic effects were only detectable to FeLV-producer lymphomas, and comparable levels of NK activity were found in normal and lymphoid tumor-bearing animals. In cats immunized with ATF, a population of effector cells was found in peripheral blood which had functional characteristics of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). The killing of ATF by CTL-like cells was not inhibited by FeLV/FeSV immune sera or by sera from autochthonous immune cats. The comparative importance of humoral and cellular cytotoxic mechanisms against FeLV- and FeSV-induced tumors is discussed.     

Androgen dynamics in vitro in the normal and hyperplastic human prostate gland

The dynamics of uptake and metabolism in vitro of androgens by normal and hyperplastic human prostate glands was studied by means of a new experimental design proposed by Gurpide & Welch (1969). Prostate slices were perfused with a medium containing [(3)H]testosterone and [(14)C]androstenedione, or 5alpha-dihydro-[(3)H]testosterone and [(14)C]testosterone. The entry into the slices, the irreversible metabolism, the conversion between the compounds and the tissue retention or ;uptake' of the steroids were measured at the steady state. A similar portion of the three androgens entered the tissue and was irreversibly metabolized. Conversion of testosterone into 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone was much greater than the interconversion of testosterone and androstenedione. The prostate slices retained 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone at a concentration three times that in the medium, whereas testosterone and androstenedione were retained to a smaller extent. At a steroid concentration of 0.11mumol/l in the medium, the various parameters did not differ significantly in experiments performed with slices from normal and hyperplastic glands. When the steroid concentration in the medium was increased tenfold, however, a difference between normal and hyperplastic glands was evident. The normal glands increased the uptake and metabolism proportionally to the elevation of the steroid concentration in the medium. In the hyperplastic glands the entry and metabolism lagged behind the increase in steroid supply, whereas the tissue uptake became disproportionately high. The possible causes of this finding are discussed.