Increased accumulation of indole alkaloids by some cell lines of Catharanthus roseus in response to addition of vanadyl sulphate

Vanadyl sulphate (10–500 mg/l), when added to cell suspension cultures of Catharanthus roseus stimulated increased intracellular accumulation of catharanthine and ajmalicine. This response was demonstrated in both flask and fermenter (30 litre) systems. The response varied, and depended upon cell line, concentration of vanadyl sulphate and the stage of the growth phase at which the cells were treated. This process has the potential to increase the yield and reduce the production time for commercially useful secondary plant metabolites.Abbreviations Ajm ajmalicine - Cath catharanthine - CAS ceric ammonium sulphate - VOSO₄ vanadyl sulphate - FW fresh weight - n.d. not detected     

Purification, properties, and cellular localization of Euglena ferredoxin-NADP reductase

Ferredoxin-NADP reductase from Euglena gracilis Klebs var. Bacillaris Cori purified to apparent homogeneity, yields a typical 36 kDa and an unusual 15 kDa polypeptide on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, exhibits a typical flavoprotein spectrum, contains FAD, and catalyzes NADPH-dependent iodonitrotetrazolium-violet diaphorase, NADPH-specific ferredoxin-dependent cytochrome-c-550 reductase and NADPH-NAD transhydrogenase activities. Rabbit antibody to the purified FNR blocks these activities specifically and also blocks the iodonitrotetrazolium-violet diaphorase activity of Euglena chloroplasts completely. The low iodonitrotetrazolium-violet diaphorase activity in the plastidless mutant, W₁₀BSmL, is mitochondrial and is not specifically blocked by the ferredoxin-NADP reductase antibody. Dark-grown non-dividing (resting) wild-type Euglena cells show a 4-fold increase in ferredoxin-NADP reductase activity during greening at 970 lx. Half of the low ferredoxin-NADP reductase activity in dark-grown cells is initially soluble, but by the end of chloroplast development nearly all of the enzyme is membrane-bound. The binding of ferredoxin-NADP reductase on exposure to light correlates with the extent of thylakoid membrane formation. Immunoblots of wild-type extracts during greening indicate that the 15 kDa polypeptide increases in the same manner as the extent of reductase binding to thylakoid membranes.     

Inhibition of phosphoglucose isomerase allozymes from the wing polymorphic waterstrider,Limnoporus canaliculatus,by pentose shunt metabolites

Inhibition of phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI) allozymes from the wing-polymorphic waterstrider, Limnoporus canaliculatus, by three pentose-shunt metabolites was studied at several different temperatures. This was done to determine if the allozymes exhibited a differential ability to participate in lipid biosynthesis via differential partitioning of carbon flux through the pentose shunt versus glycolysis. 6-Phosphogluconate and erythrose-4-phosphate proved to be strong competitive inhibitors of PGI, while sedoheptulose-7-phosphate was a very weak inhibitor. The PGI allozymes from L. canalicualtus were differentially inhibited by 6-phosphogluconate at two of the three temperatures studied. However, this property does not appear to be an adaptive difference between the allozymes but, rather, a correlated effect resulting from variation in substrate binding. Estimates of reaction rates for the allozymes indicate that the differences in inhibition result in no detectable differences in reaction velocities. Thus, no evidence in support of the hypothesis that PGI allozymes from Limnoporus canaliculatus were adapted to function in different metabolic capacities via differential inhibition was obtained in this study. However, the importance of this characteristic in allozymic adaptation in natural populations remains an open question.Supported by NSF Grant DEB 7908802 and UPHS Grant GM 21133 to R. K. Koehn and an NSF dissertation improvement grant to A. J. Zera.     

Natural killer (NK) cell immunodeficiency in patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia

Summary Defective natural killer (NK) cell populations from patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), that reacted with both HNK-1⁺ and B73.1⁺ antibodies, were obtained by a flluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS). These fractions, along with NK fractions from normal donors which reacted with both antibodies, were expanded as bulk cultures or clones by limiting dilution, for 4 weeks in the presence of 10% interleukin 2 (IL 2), human type AB plasma, and irradiated human allogeneic mononuclear cells. Successfully established clones from patients with CML, with lytic activity against autologous and more differentiated neoplastic granulocytes, were generated more efficiently from B73.1⁺ than from HNK-1⁺ subsets. However, there were no significant differences among the generations of B73.1⁺ and HNK-1⁺ clones for both patients and normal donors with lytic activity against NK susceptible K-562 targets. Fresh myeloblast preparations from a blast crisis were found to be more susceptible to lysis by IL 2-proliferative B73.1⁺ and HNK-1⁺ clones than were fresh myelocyte preparations from a chronic phase CML patient, which were lytically susceptible to only B73.1⁺ clones. B73.1⁺ and HNK-1⁺ subsets from CML patients demonstrated major histocompatibility complex nonrestricted killing, and showed the following predominant phenotypes: B73.1⁺T3⁺T8⁺ or B73.1⁺T3⁺T8^– from B73.1⁺ subsets; and HNK-1^–T3⁺T8⁺ (initially HNK-1⁺) from HNK-1⁺ subsets. In contrast, B73.1⁺ and HNK-1⁺ clones from normal donors showed the following predominant phenotypes: B73.1⁺T3^–T8^–; and HNK-1^–T3^–T8^– or HNK-1^–T3^–T8⁺ (initially all HNK-1⁺). Short-term in vitro IL 2 or interferon treatment of fresh NK defective subsets from CML patients resulted in minimal cytotoxic augmentation. In contrast, defective NK cells from CML patients, whether HNK-1⁺ or B73.1⁺ subsets, proliferated with complete regeneration of cytolytic activity after a 3–4 week exposure to IL 2, but differed in phenotypic profiles as compared to those of normal donors. These observations imply that not only fresh defective NK cells but also the cytotoxically restored clones from CML patients are derived from different NK subsets and may represent undifferentiated forms of NK cells that may be arrested at an early stage of development by yet unknown mechanism(s). In vitro substantiation of autologous leukemia cell killing by IL 2-proliferative NK cell clones is encouraging and may allow for new in vivo immunotherapeutic modalities in CML patients.     

Localization and cloning of Xp21 deletion breakpoints involved in muscular dystrophy

Summary Twenty-nine deletion breakpoints were mapped in 220 kb of the DXS164 locus relative to potential exons of the Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy gene. Four deletion junction fragments were isolated to acquire outlying Xp21 loci on both the terminal and centromere side of the DXS164 locus. The junction loci were used for chromosome walking, searches for DNA polymorphisms, and mapping against deletion and translocation breakpoints. Forty-four unrelated deletions were analyzed using the junction loci as hybridization probes to map the endpoints between cloned Xp21 loci. DNA polymorphisms from the DXS164 and junction loci were used to follow the segregation of a mutation in a family that represents a recombinant. Both the physical and genetic data point to a very large size for this X-linked muscular dystrophy locus.     

Effects of plasmid presence on growth and enzyme activity of Escherichia coli DH5α

Summary The effects of recombinant DNA propagation and gene expression on the physiology of the host cell was investigated using a series of copy number mutant plasmids. The plasmids at copy numbers of 30, 57, 115 and 501 per chromosome equivalent encoded constitutive production of the enzyme -lactamase. Ribose phosphate isomerase activity was relatively unaffected by plasmid presence, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, fructose 1,6-diphosphate aldolase and fructose 1,6-diphosphatase activities were lower in plasmid-containing cells than in the plasmid-free host strain. Increasing copy number resulted in increased depression of enzyme activity levels. The results indicate that plasmid presence mediates subtle changes in the net expression of host enzymes involved in carbon metabolism. Responses of Escherichia coli DH5 in Evans medium to these plasmids differed substantially from responses of E. coli HB101 in rich medium.Offprint requests to: J. E. Bailey     

Actions of extracellular matrix on Sertoli cell morphology and function

Sertoli cells were isolated and cultured in the absence or presence of extracellular matrix (ECM) to determine whether ECM may influence Sertoli cell function on a molecular level. As previously described, a morphological analysis of the cells indicated that ECM allows the expression of a columnar histotype and the formation of junctional complexes. The combined actions of ECM and hormones were found to have a profound effect in promoting the expression of a polarized Sertoli cell morphology. In our investigation of the effects of ECM on Sertoli cells, we used transferrin and androgen-binding protein (ABP) production as biochemical markers of Sertoli cell function. The presence of ECM was found to cause a 25% increase in the basal level of transferrin production; however, ECM had no effect on the basal level of ABP production by Sertoli cells. Regulatory agents such as follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and a combination of FSH, insulin, retinol, and testosterone stimulated the production of both transferrin and ABP. The ability of hormones to stimulate these Sertoli cell functions was not influenced by the presence of ECM. Similar results were obtained with 2-microns- or 50-microns-thick ECM and with a seminiferous tubule biomatrix preparation. ECM was found to increase the maintenance of long-term Sertoli cell cultures; however, the decline in Sertoli cell functional integrity, which occurs during cell culture, was not affected by the presence of ECM. An additional functional parameter examined was the radiolabeled proteins secreted by Sertoli cells. ECM did not promote the production or affect the electrophoretic profile of Sertoli cell-secreted proteins under basal or hormonally stimulated conditions. Combined results indicated that although ECM allowed the expression of a normal Sertoli cell histotype, ECM had no major effects on the Sertoli cell functions analyzed nor on the hormonal regulation of these functions. The inability of ECM to affect Sertoli cell function on a molecular level is discussed with regard to environmental as opposed to regulatory cellular interactions. Our observations imply that dramatic effects of ECM on cell morphology do not necessarily correlate to subsequent effects on cellular function.     

Nucleotide sequence of the Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 moxF and moxJ genes involved in methanol oxidation

The nucleotide sequence has been determined for two genes involved in methanol oxidation in the facultative methylotroph, Methylobacterium extorquens AM1. The two genes are moxF, encoding the 66-kDa subunit of the methanol dehydrogenase and moxJ, located immediately downstream from moxF, which encodes a 30-kDa protein with unknown function. This information completes the sequence of the 5.86-kb XhoI-SalI fragment containing the moxFJGI region in M. extorquens AM1, and the structure of this gene cluster is presented. Evidence is presented that moxJ is also present in Paracoccus denitrificans. The aa sequence of MoxJ has provided little information concerning its function, but it does appear to contain a signal sequence suggesting a periplasmic location.