Myofibroblasts and mechano-regulation of connective tissue remodelling

During the past 20 years, it has become generally accepted that the modulation of fibroblastic cells towards the myofibroblastic phenotype, with acquisition of specialized contractile features, is essential for connective-tissue remodelling during normal and pathological wound healing. Yet the myofibroblast still remains one of the most enigmatic of cells, not least owing to its transient appearance in association with connective-tissue injury and to the difficulties in establishing its role in the production of tissue contracture. It is clear that our understanding of the myofibroblast its origins, functions and molecular regulation will have a profound influence on the future effectiveness not only of tissue engineering but also of regenerative medicine generally.     

Affinity modification of EcoRII DNA methyltransferase by the dialdehyde-substituted DNA duplexes: mapping the enzyme region that interacts with DNA

Affinity modification of EcoRII DNA methyltransferase (M x EcoRII) by DNA duplexes containing oxidized 2'-O-beta-D-ribofuranosylcytidine (Crib*) or 1-(beta-D-galactopyranosyl)thymine (Tgal*) residues was performed. Cross-linking yields do not change irrespective of whether active Crib* replaces an outer or an inner (target) deoxycytidine within the EcoRII recognition site. Chemical hydrolysis of M x EcoRII in the covalent cross-linked complex with the Tgal*-substituted DNA indicates the region Gly268-Met391 of the methylase that is likely to interact with the DNA sugar-phosphate backbone. Both specific and non-specific DNA interact with the same M x EcoRII region. Our results support the theoretically predicted DNA binding region of M x EcoRII.     

Myeloid or lymphoid promiscuity as a critical step in hematopoietic lineage commitment

We demonstrate here that "promiscuous" expression of myeloid or lymphoid genes precedes lineage commitment in hematopoiesis. Prospectively purified single common myeloid progenitors (CMPs) coexpress myelo-erythroid but not lymphoid genes, whereas single common lymphoid progenitors (CLPs) coexpress T and B lymphoid but not myeloid genes. Genes unrelated to the adopted lineage are downregulated in bipotent and monopotent descendants of CMPs and CLPs. Promiscuous gene expression does not alter the biological potential of multipotent progenitors: CMPs with an activated endogenous M lysozyme locus yield normal proportions of myelo-erythroid colonies, and CLPs expressing the pre-T cell receptor alpha gene differentiate into normal numbers of B cells. Thus, the accessibility for multiple myeloid or lymphoid programs promiscuously may allow flexibility in fate commitments at these multipotent stages.     

Effect of natural b-carotene supplementation in children exposed to radiation from the Chernobyl accident

Attempts were made to evaluate 709 children (324 boys and 385 girls) who had been exposed long-term to different doses of radiation during and after the Chernobyl accident and had moved to Israel between 1990 and 1994. Upon arrival, all of them underwent a check-up for most common clinical disorders and were then divided into three groups according to their residences (distance from the reactor) and the level of irradiation exposure: no radiation, <5 Ci/m², and >5 Ci/m², respectively. Blood serum analyses for total carotenoids, retinol, α-tocopherol and oxidized conjugated dienes in 262 of the children showed increased HPLC levels of conjugated dienes, indicating increased levels of oxidation of in vivo blood lipids in children from the contaminated areas. The levels were higher in girls than in boys. Some 57 boys and 42 girls were given a basal diet with a diurnal supplementation of 40 mg natural 9-cis and all-trans equal isomer mixture β-carotene in a capsulated powder form of the alga Dunaliella bardawil, for a period of 3 months. Blood serum analyses were regularly conducted before supplementation to determine the baseline effect of radiation exposure to the children, after 1 and 3 months of natural β-carotene supplementation. After supplementation, the levels of the oxidized conjugated dienes decreased in the children's sera without any significant changes in the level of total carotenoids, retinol or α-tocopherol. Other common blood biochemicals were within the normal range for all tests and no statistical differences before or after supplementation of β-carotene were noted. High pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses for carotenoids in the blood detected mainly oxycarotenoids, and to a lesser extent, all-trans β-carotene, α-carotene, but not 9-cis β-carotene. The results suggest that irradiation increases the susceptibility of lipids to oxidation in the Chernobyl children and that natural β-carotene may act as an in vivo lipophilic antioxidant or radioprotector. Received: 20 March 1998 / Accepted in revised form: 1 August 1998     

Phytoplankton development and turbulent mixing in Lake Kinneret (1992-1996)

We have utilized data from a recently developed three-dimensionalvelocity fluctuation meter to compute the dissipation of turbulentkinetic energies (TKE) and the intensity of turbulent mixingin horizontal and vertical planes in the pelagic, epilimnicwater of Lake Kinneret, Israel. These characteristics of wind-inducedturbulent movement have been monitored from January 1992 throughDecember 1996. The turbulence parameters were strongly correlatedto wind energy inputs, calculated daily as 5 day cumulativeinputs. There have been dramatic changes in the annual and seasonaldevelopment of phytoplankton, together with unusually high levelsof primary production in this lake since 1994. We observed differentpatterns of vertical and horizontal turbulent movement and ofTKE dissipation rates during the years when ‘unusual’phytoplankton development occurred (1994–1996) comparedto ‘normal’ years (1992, 1993). The first appearanceof the filamentous cyanobacterium Aphanizomenon in this lakein August–September 1994 coincided with a period of markedlylower rates of TKE dispersion and a shift from vertical to horizontaldominance of the turbulent eddy spins. The absence of a regularwinter-spring bloom of the dinoflagellate, Peridinium, in 1996occurred when dissipation rates of TKE were extremely high,while record high amounts of dinoflagellates (1994, 1995) appearedwhen dissipation rates were very low. Correlations were shownbetween phytoplankton parameters (chlorophyll, primary productionand the ratio of primary production to chlorophyll) and boththe dissipation rate of TKE and the intensity of water turbulentmixing in the vertical plane. We suggest that the changes inthe ‘turbulence climate’ of Lake Kinneret were animportant factor in determining shifts in phytoplankton successionand the population composition of the algal assemblage.     

MT1-MMP Initiates Activation of pro-MMP-2 and Integrin αvβ3 Promotes Maturation of MMP-2 in Breast Carcinoma Cells

We evaluated cellular mechanisms involved in the activation pathway of matrix prometalloproteinase-2 (pro-MMP-2), an enzyme implicated in the malignant progression of many tumor types. Membrane type-1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) cleaves the N-terminal prodomain of pro-MMP-2 thus generating the activation intermediate that then matures into the fully active enzyme of MMP-2. Our results provide evidence on how a collaboration between MT1-MMP and integrin αvβ3 promotes more efficient activation and specific, transient docking of the activation intermediate and, further, the mature, active enzyme of MMP-2 at discrete regions of cells. We show that coexpression of MT1-MMP and integrin αvβ3 in MCF7 breast carcinoma cells specifically enhances in trans autocatalytic maturation of MMP-2. The association of MMP-2′s C-terminal hemopexin-like domain with those molecules of integrin αvβ3 which are proximal to MT1-MMP facilitates MMP-2 maturation. Vitronectin, a specific ligand of integrin αvβ3, competitively blocked the integrin-dependent maturation of MMP-2. Immunofluorescence and immunoprecipitation studies supported clustering of MT1-MMP and integrin αvβ3 at discrete regions of the cell surface. Evidently, the identified mechanisms appear to be instrumental to clustering active MMP-2 directly at the invadopodia and invasive front of αvβ3-expressing cells or in their close vicinity, thereby accelerating tumor cell locomotion.     

Unordered arrangement of chromosomes in the nuclei of chicken spermatozoa

The arrangement of chromosomes in the elongated sperm nuclei of chicken was studied using fluorescence in situ hybridization with probes specific for telomeres of all chromosomes, a microchromosome, the long arm of chromosome 6, the large heterochromatic block on the Z-chromosome, and the same heterochromatic block plus subtelomeric sites on macrochromosomes 1–4. The positions of all probes vary from one sperm to another. No order in chromosome arrangement is apparent. It is suggested that large chromosome size and small chromosome number correlate with constant positions of chromosomes and vice versa. Based on the known quantity of repetitive units of the repeat on the Z-chromosome, the degree of compaction of chromatin in the chicken sperm nucleus is estimated as ca 0.7 Mb/μm. As judged from the length of the heterochromatic region of the Z-chromosome at the lampbrush stage, the total length of the Z-chromosome in mature sperm is 2.5–4 times that of the sperm nucleus. Received: 15 December 1997; in revised form: 24 March 1998 / Accepted: 14 April 1998     

The GAIF-Positive Population of Neurons in the Evolution of the Temnocephalida

The nervous system of three species of the Temnocephalida has been studied using the GAIF method (which in small flatworms mostly reveals sensory catecholaminergic neurons). These species represent the evolution from the primitive “turbellarian-like” temnocephalids to the most specialised ones with tentacles and a sucker. The numbers and positions of GAIF-positive neurons are invariant within each species and do not change from hatching to full maturity. A characteristic unpaired neuron contributing to the innervation of the anterior margin of the body is present in all species: such a cell has previously been found only in marine Thalassovortex tyrrhenicus (Dalyellidae) which confirms close relationships between these taxa. Our series of species shows (i) a reduction in number of GAIF-positive perikarya associated with the lateral cords and reduction of GAIF-positive innervation on the ventral side of the body, which is probably related to the loss of ciliary locomotion (the shift to passive hunting and looping locomotion) and (ii) reinforcement of the GAIF-positive innervation of the anterior end of the body which begins to play an important role in capturing the prey. The retention of the medial unpaired neuron and nearly identical sets of GAIF-positive neurons in Diceratocephala boschmai and Craspedella pedum (rather different in morphology) give the first indication (in the Plathelminthes) of persistence of homologous neurons through significant evolutionary transformations of the organs they innervate.     

Inducer exclusion in Escherichia coli by non-PTS substrates: the role of the PEP to pyruvate ratio in determining the phosphorylation state of enzyme IIAGlc

The main mechanism causing catabolite repression in Escherichia coli is the dephosphorylation of enzyme IIA^Glc, one of the enzymes of the phosphoenolpyruvate:carbohydrate phosphotransferase system (PTS). The PTS is involved in the uptake of a large number of carbohydrates that are phosphorylated during transport, phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) being the phosphoryl donor. Dephosphorylation of enzyme IIA^Glc causes inhibition of uptake of a number of non-PTS carbon sources, a process called inducer exclusion. In this paper, we show that dephosphorylation of enzyme IIA^Glc is not only caused by the transport of PTS carbohydrates, as has always been thought, and that an additional mechanism causing dephosphorylation exists. Direct monitoring of the phosphorylation state of enzyme IIA^Glc also showed that many carbohydrates that are not transported by the PTS caused dephosphorylation during growth. In the case of glucose 6-phosphate, it was shown that transport and the first metabolic step are not involved in the dephosphorylation of enzyme IIA^Glc, but that later steps in the glycolysis are essential. Evidence is provided that the [PEP]–[pyruvate] ratio, the driving force for the phosphorylation of the PTS proteins, determines the phosphorylation state of enzyme IIA^Glc. The implications of these new findings for our view on catabolite repression and inducer exclusion are discussed.