N-Methyl-D-Aspartate receptors in acquisition of the short-term memory in the honeybeeApis mellifera

Role of NMDA receptors in the process of associative learning has been studied in the honeybeeApis mellifera L. in behavior experiments, using method of conditional reflexes. To determine pharmacological profile of NMDA receptors, effects of Mg²⁺ ions, NMDA, glycine (Gly), antagonist of the glycine site 5,7-dichlorokynurenic acid (DCK), competitive antagonists of NMDA receptors: D,L-2-aminophosphovalerate (APV), L-2-aminophosphobutyrate (APB), and D-glutamyl-aminomethylphosphonic acid (GAMP) as well of antagonists of NMDA receptor ion channels MK-801 and ketamine (Ket) were studied on acquisition of alimentary conditional reflex and its retention in memory. NMDA increased capacity for learning by stimulating shortterm memory. The NMDA receptor co-agonist Gly activated this NMDA effect. DCK eliminated the NMDA and Gly stimulatoty effects. All tested antagonists at millimolar concentrations inhibited associative function. The data obtained confirm our hypothesis about participation of NMDA receptors in processes of formation of short-term memory in the honeybeeApis mellifera and suggest that functional characteristics of the NMDA receptors involved in the process of associative learning in the honeybee resemble those in mammals.     

1-Alkyl-3-amino-5-aryl-1H-[1,2,4]triazoles: novel synthesis via cyclization of N-acyl-S-methylisothioureas with alkylhydrazines and their potent corticotropin-releasing factor-1 (CRF(1)) receptor antagonist activities.

Cyclizations of alkylhydrazines with N-acyl-S-methylisothioureas, readily synthesized from acyl chlorides, sodium thioisocyanate, dialkylamines then methyl iodide in a one-pot reaction, gave 1-alkyl-3-dialkylamino-5-phenyltriazoles 7 as major products. The regioisomers were assigned through the use of NOE NMR experiments. While bearing a N-bis(cyclopropyl)methyl-N-propylamino group, this series of compounds shows very good binding affinity on the human CRF₁ receptor. Among them, 1-methyl-3-[N-bis(cyclopropyl)methyl-N-propylamino]-5-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-1H-[1,2,4]triazole 7a had the best binding affinity for the CRF₁ receptor (K_i=9 nM).     

Characterization of transducin from bovine retinal rod outer segments. Participation of the amino-terminal region of T alpha in subunit interaction

The GTP-induced dissociation of T alpha from T beta gamma initiates the release of transducin from photolyzed rhodopsin and the subsequent activation of the cGMP phosphodiesterase. In this study, site-specific proteolysis and immunoprecipitation were used to map the domain of T alpha that interacts with T beta gamma. We found that Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease rapidly removes a small fragment from T alpha under native conditions, resulting in the formation of a single 38-kDa polypeptide (T alpha'). Under the same conditions, T beta gamma remains intact. A 4.5-fold decrease in the rate of T alpha cleavage by S. aureus protease was observed in the presence of T beta gamma, suggesting T beta gamma binding blocks the protease-sensitive site on T alpha. Amino acid sequence analysis indicated that T alpha' is derived from the cleavage of T alpha at Glu-21. The ability of T alpha' to interact with and activate the retinal phosphodiesterase is not diminished. However, T alpha' is unable to participate in T beta gamma-dependent activities such as the light-stimulated binding of guanine nucleotides, binding to photoexcited rhodopsin, and ADP-ribosylation catalyzed by pertussis toxin. Moreover, the anti-T alpha monoclonal antibody TF16 was able to precipitate T beta gamma in the presence of T alpha, but not with either T alpha' or T alpha-guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate). We conclude that the amino-terminal region of T alpha participates in T beta gamma interaction and discuss our results with respect to the known structure and function of transducin.     

Disruption of energy metabolism and smoltification during exposure of juvenile atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) to low pH

Juvenile Atlantic salmon were held for 76 days at pH 4.7 during the period when the final stages of smoltification normally occur. Control salmon (pH 6.5) had significant increases in weight, length and liver somatic index which were not observed in those held at low pH. Condition factor decreased in both groups but to a significantly greater extent in the low pH group. After 15 days levels of ADP and glucose were higher and AEC, CP and glycogen were lower in muscles of salmon exposed to low pH. These qualitative differences were maintained until the end of the experiment. ATP and total adenylate concentrations in muscle were lower after 62 days of exposure to low pH compared to controls. The levels of ATP, total adenylates, AEC and glucose were consistently higher in livers of salmon exposed to low pH than those of controls. There were no differences in liver concentrations of AMP, CP and glycogen between the two treatments or with time of exposure within each treatment. The results suggest that exposure of juvenile Atlantic salmon to low pH increased gluconeogenesis and decreased food intake to the detriment of growth.     

Identification and purification of overlapping cosmid clones of the region Xq24-qter of human X chromosome using HPLC.

The assembly of a large physical map of genomes requires simultaneous analysis of many cosmid clones for overlapping regions. The search for overlapping regions may be achieved by various means. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) provides an alternative to gel electrophoresis since microgram amounts of each DNA fragment may be collected into individual test tubes for further analysis. HPLC has been used to identify overlapping cosmid clones from a pool of cosmid DNA containing the terminal portion of the long arm of the human X chromosome (Xq24-qter). Among 400 cosmids analyzed, 3 were shown to overlap.