Selective Utilization of Pyrimidine Deoxyribonucleosides for Deoxyribonucleic Acid Synthesis in Pneumococcus

When pyrimidine deoxyribonucleosides are supplied to growing cultures of Diplococcus pneumoniae, they are selectively used for incorporation into deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Differently labeled molecules of deoxyuridine, thymidine, and deoxycytidine were used to study the precursor pathways of this organism. Each of these preformed pyrimidine deoxynucleosides is incorporated intact (i.e., without cleavage of the glycosidic bond) and is predominantly recoverable as DNA thymidine. During the utilization of deoxycytidine and deoxyuridine by pneumococci, large proportions of the available precursor are converted to free thymidine, which is secreted back into the growth medium. The biochemical pathways for selective incorporation into DNA and the regulation of concentrations of intracellular thymidine compounds by excretion of free thymidine are discussed.     

Lysophosphatidylcholine concentrations and metabolism in aortic intima plus inner media: effect of nutritionally induced atherosclerosis

The concentration of lysophosphatidylcholine (monoacyl sn-glycerol 3-phosphorylcholine) in intima plus inner media of atherosclerotic aorta from squirrel monkeys was nearly eight times that in comparable control tissue. Plasma levels of the same compound were somewhat elevated in the atherosclerotic group. The metabolism of fatty acyl CoA's and lysophosphatides was studied in cell-free preparations of intima plus inner media from squirrel monkey aorta. Linoleic acid was incorporated predominantly into phosphatidylcholine (as opposed to other phospholipids) when linoleoyl-1-(14)C CoA was the substrate. The extent of this reaction was dependent on the concentration of lysophosphatidylcholine. Lysophosphatidylethanolamine (monoacyl sn-glycerol 3-phosphorylethanolamine) stimulated the incorporation of linoleate into phosphatidylethanolamine. 1-Palmitoyl-1'-(14)C sn-glycerol 3-phosphorylcholine ((14)C-lysophosphatidylcholine) was incorporated into phosphatidylcholine only in the presence of acyl CoA's or ATP plus CoA. Incorporation of (14)C with (14)C-lysophosphatidylcholine plus linoleoyl CoA equaled that with linoleoyl-1-(14)C CoA and lysophosphatidylcholine. Various other lines of evidence are presented to support the importance of the fatty acyl CoA:lysophosphatide fatty acyl transferase mechanism in aortic phospholipid metabolism. Cell-free preparations of aortic intima plus inner media from squirrel monkeys with early, nutritionally-induced atherosclerosis utilized linoleoyl-1-(14)C CoA more than preparations from control monkeys when incubations were carried out without added lysophosphatidylcholine and for long periods (30 min). With optimum levels of labeled linoleoyl CoA and unlabeled lysophosphatidylcholine, or unlabeled linoleoyl CoA and labeled lysophosphatidylcholine, there were no differences in substrate utilization between control and atherosclerotic tissues. We conclude that the concentrations of lysophosphatidylcholine, which are higher in atherosclerotic than in control aortic tissues, could be a factor controlling rates of fatty acid incorporation into phosphatidylcholine.     

Metabolism of 35S-labelled Antithyroid Drugs in Man

Differences in the metabolic fate of antithyroid drugs influence the optimal frequency of administration and their therapeutic efficacy. ³⁵S propylthiouracil differed from the ³⁵S imidazoles (carbimazole and methimazole) in the more rapid absorption and excretion and the shorter biological half-life in the plasma of the former. Renal function may have a more important influence on the biological half-life of the drugs than thyroid status. Further work is required to determine the optimal frequency of administration for each compound.     

Cell Walls and Lysis of Mortierella parvispora Hyphae

Walls of Mortierella parvispora, Pullularia pullulans, Absidia repens, Fusarium oxysporum, and of several Penicillium species varied in their susceptibilities to digestion by glucanase and chitinase. Polysaccharides were present in the residues remaining after enzymatic digestion. Acid hydrolysates of the walls contained glucose, glucosamine, and a small amount of galactose. The walls of M. parvispora, which also contained fucose, were the least digested by these two enzymes. Much of the M. parvispora wall material was resistant to decomposition by a heterogeneous soil community, and viable hyphae were not lysed by a glucanase-chitinase mixture. Walls of this fungus were fractionated, and the chemical composition of the fractions was determined. The chitin which was abundant in one of the fractions was apparently largely shielded from chitinase hydrolysis by a glucan. The ecological significance of these findings is discussed.     

Incomplete bacteriophage-like particles in ultraviolet-irradiated haemophilus

Incomplete phagelike particles were found in competent and incompetent cells of Haemophilus influenzae Rd (transformable) lysed after exposure to ultraviolet radiation.     

Die Zytologie vonRubus Gremlii Focke undRubus candicans Wh.

Zusammenfassung Es wurde fürRubus Gremlii die Chromosomenzahl 2n=28, fürRubus candicans 2n=21 festgestellt. Die Angabe vonMarks fürRubus candicans 2n=35 bezieht sich vielleicht aufRubus Linkianus, der wahrscheinlich mitRubus candicans nicht näher verwandt ist.     

Results of Treatment of Thyrotoxicosis after Postoperative Relapse

Ninety patients who had a recurrence of thyrotoxicosis after thyroidectomy have been reviewed. All 10 patients who had a second operation and 18 out of 20 patients treated with a full course of antithyroid drugs relapsed. These results differ greatly from the results of treatment of the first episode of thyrotoxicosis, whether by thyroidectomy or antithyroid drugs. Radioiodine is the treatment of choice in this group of patients, despite the high incidence of hypothyroidism.