Changes in phospholipid composition of the mitochondrial membrane after orthotopic liver transplantation

Changes in phospholipids and their fatty acid composition in liver mitochondria obtained from allogenic rats with orthotopic liver transplants were measured with and without immunosuppressive treatment. In untreated allogenic rats, mitochondrial phosphorylation activity was severely deteriorated at 8 days after transplantation. A significant change was also found in the amount of cardiolipin compared with other classes of phospholipids. Namely, cardiolipin decreased, and lysodiphosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylglycerol increased concomitantly. Furthermore, the percentage of linoleic acid in cardiolipin decreased dramatically. Decrease in cardiolipin and changes in its fatty acid composition may be attributed to the deterioration of mitochondrial function upon acute rejection.     

The primary structure of human Rieske iron-sulfur protein of mitochondrial cytochrome bc1 complex deduced from cDNA analysis

We isolated a cDNA encoding human Rieske Fe-S protein of mitochondrial cytochrome bc1 complex from a fibroblast cDNA library by colony hybridization. The cDNA contains the nucleotide sequence encoding all of the amino acids (274 residues) comprising the putative precursor to the protein. Based on the known amino acid sequence of bovine Rieske Fe-S protein, the N-terminal extension sequence is presumed to be composed of 78 amino acids with a molecular weight of 8053. The mature protein consists of the same number of amino acid residues as that of its rat and bovine counterparts, having a homology of about 92% with the latter.     

Effects of body and head positions on bilateral difference in tympanic temperatures

We have examined the nonparallel changes in tampanic membrane temperatures (T _ty) from the two ears in response to various changes in body and head positions. Upon assuming a lateral recumbent position, the T _ty on the lower side increased while that on the upper side decreased. Pressure application over a wide area of the lateral chest only caused inconsistent and obscure asymmetric changes in T _ty. A lateral flexion of the head with the subject sitting upright and a rotation of the head to the side in a supine position induced an increase in the T _ty on the lower side compared to that on the upper side. The temperature and blood flow of the forehead often decreased on the lower side and increased on the upper side, although such responses were not always concomitant with the asymmetric changes in T _ty. A dorsal flexion of the head with the subject in a reclining position caused a slight increase in the T _ty, whereas raising the head upright induced a slight decrease in them. Two additional experiments were carried out with single photon emission computed tomography using ^99mTc-hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime as tracer, and a slight, relative decrease in counts was noted in the right hemisphere during rotation of the head to the right. These results would strongly suggest that unilateral increases and decreases in T _ty could have been caused by one-sided decreases and increases, respectively, in blood flow to the brain and/or the tympanic membrane, induced by a vasomotor reflex involving vestibular stimulation.     

The crystallization of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase-cytochrome c complex

Conditions are described under which crystals are formed with equimolar complex of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase and cytochrome c. Characteristic absorption bands of the solubilized crystals could be attributed to the cytochrome oxidase-cytochrome c complex with heme a:c ratio of 2:1. Activity of crystals shows more close heme-heme interaction between two cytochromes than that of the mixture.     

Site-directed mutagenesis of glutamine residue of calmodulin. Activation of guanylate cyclase of Tetrahymena plasma membrane

Tetrahymena calmodulin (CaM) differs from mammalian CaM in its ability to activate Tetrahymena guanylate cyclase. Of 12 differences in amino acid sequence, two occur near the carboxyl terminus (Gln-143----Arg and Thr-146----deletion). To investigate the functional significance of the carboxyl-terminal region in activation of the guanylate cyclase, three mutated CaMs were engineered by using cassette mutagenesis of rat CaM cDNA: Gln-143----Arg (CaM.A), Thr-146----deletion (CaM.D), and Gln-143----Arg/Thr-146 deletion (CaM.AD). Recombinant wild type CaM (wCaM), CaM.A, CaM.D, and CaM.AD were indistinguishable in their ability to activate cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase. The two mutated CaMs (CaM.A and CaM.AD) with the Gln-143 replacement activated guanylate cyclase of Tetrahymena plasma membrane in the presence of Ca2+, with the maximal activation being half of that produced by Tetrahymena CaM. In contrast, neither CaM.D nor wCaM could stimulate the cyclase activity. A CaM antagonist, W-7 (N-(6-aminohexyl)-5-chloro-1-naphthalenesulfonamide), prevented the cyclase activation by either Tetrahymena CaM, CaM.A, or CaM.AD. Thus, we conclude that Arg-143 is in a region of the molecule involved in activation of Tetrahymena guanylate cyclase. The data also suggest that the cyclase activation by Tetrahymena CaM requires complex macromolecular interactions between the entire CaM molecule and the enzyme.     

The “happy puppet” syndrome in two siblings

Summary Disomic and trisomic cells of a patient with Down syndrome mosaic were used to study the effect of the additional chromosome 21 against an identical genetic background. The frequency of Ag staining and the participation in satellite associations were determined for each pair of acrocentric chromosomes. The additional chromosome 21 of the trisomic cells and its homologues proved to be regularly Ag positive. Therefore the trisomic cells showed more Ag positive chromosomes and more satellite associations per cell than the diploid cells. Thus, no compensation for the additional rRNA-gene dose could be found in the cells of the trisomic line.