Inhibition of Bordetella pertussis filamentous hemagglutinin-mediated cell adherence with monoclonal antibodies

Abstract Filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA), a 220-kDa protein located on the surface of Bordetella pertussis , is one of the major cell adhesins of this bacterium. We have produced three hybridoma cell lines that express monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against FHA: X3C, X3E and X4B. The anti-FHA mAbs X3C and X3E reacted with 220-kDa FHA protein bands on Western blots. The mAb X4B, which reacted with FHA in ELISA, did not bind to FHA in a Western blot assay. All three mAbs seemed to be directed to the same epitope or to epitopes in close proximity as suggested by competition ELISAs. All three mAbs were able to inhibit the adherence of Chinese hamster ovary cells to purified FHA, and they could also inhibit the FHA-mediated agglutination of goose red blood cells. The attachment of B. pertussis to epithelial cell monolayers was inhibited by the mAb X3C. These antibodies are very useful probes to identify the presence of FHA in bordetellae species and in clinical reagents such as pertussis vaccines, and to characterize the functional domains of this important bacterial adhesin.     

Similar tissue-specific expression of the Adh genes from different Drosophila species is mediated by distinct arrangements of cis-acting sequences

In Drosophila melanogaster transformants, the alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) genes from D. affinidisjuncta and D. grimshawi show similar levels of expression except in the adult midgut where the D. affinidisjuncta gene is expressed about 10- to 20-fold more strongly. To study the arrangement of cis-acting sequences responsible for this regulatory difference, homologous restriction sites were used to create a series of chimeric genes that switched fragments from the 5′ and 3′ flanking regions of these two genes. Chimeric genes were introduced into the germ-line of D. melanogaster, and Adh gene expression was analyzed by measuring RNA levels. Various gene fragments in the promoter region and elsewhere influence expression in the adult midgut and in whole larvae and adults. Comparison of these results with earlier studies involving chimeras between the D. affinidisjuncta and D. hawaiiensis genes indicates that expression in the adult midgut is influenced by multiple regulatory sequences and that distinct arrangements of regulatory sequences can result in similar levels of expression both in the adult midgut and in the whole organism.     

Comparison of the Molecular Forms of the Kex2/Subtilisin-Like Serine Proteases SPC2, SPC3, and Furin in Neuroendocrine Secretory Vesicles Reveals Differences in Carboxyl-Terminus Truncation and Membrane Association

Abstract: The molecular forms and membrane association of SPC2, SPC3, and furin were investigated in neuroendocrine secretory vesicles from the anterior, intermediate, and neural lobes of bovine pituitary and bovine adrenal medulla. The major immunoreactive form of SPC2 was the full-length enzyme with a molecular mass of 64 kDa. The major immunoreactive form of SPC3 was truncated at the carboxyl terminus and had a molecular mass of 64 kDa. Full-length 86-kDa SPC3 with an intact carboxyl terminus was found only in bovine chromaffin granules. Immunoreactive furin was also detected in secretory vesicles. The molecular masses of 80 and 76 kDa were consistent with carboxyl-terminal truncation of furin to remove the transmembrane domain. All three enzymes were distributed between the soluble and membrane fractions of secretory vesicles although the degree of membrane association was tissue specific and, in the case of SPC3, dependent on the molecular form of the enzyme. Significant amounts of membrane-associated and soluble forms of SPC2, SPC3, and furin were found in pituitary secretory vesicles, whereas the majority of the immunoreactivity in chromaffin granules was membrane associated. More detailed analyses of chromaffin granule membranes revealed that 86-kDa SPC3 was more tightly associated with the membrane fraction than the carboxyl terminus-truncated 64-kDa form.     

Clonal tumorigenic endodermal cell lines producing basement membrane components

Tumors were developed from the mouse teratocarcinoma-derived endodermal cell line PF HR-9 by subcutaneous injections in syngeneic mice of large numbers of cells previously cultured for several years at high cell density. Cell cultures were established from the tumors and the cells were cloned. The cloned sublines were highly malignant in vivo and tumor metastases were occasionally observed. The tumors contained abundant extracellular material, which was distinctly laminated and contained type IV collagen, laminin, and heparan sulfate proteoglycan. The tumorigenic sublines were also shown to have retained markers of the original cells, such as the cytoskeletal proteins Endo A and B. These cell lines should be useful for biosynthetic studies on basement membrane and cytoskeletal components and the tumors for isolation of these macromolecules and their mRNAs.     

Membrane particle changes attending the acrosome reaction in guinea pig spermatozoa

To examine the freeze-fracture appearance of membrane alterations accompanying the preparation of sperm membranes for fusions-the first preparatory stage occurring before physiological release of the acrosomal content, the second afterward-we induced the acrosome reaction in capacitated guinea pig spermatozoa by adding calcium to the mixture. The most common features observed before fusion of the acrosomal and plasma membranes were the deletion of fibrillar intramembranous particles from the E-fracture faces of both membranes, and the clearance of globular particles from the P face of the plasma membrane-events taking place near the terminus of the equatorial segment. Large particles, >12nm, remained not far from the cleared E-face patches. The P face of the outer acrosomal membrane is virtually clear from the outset. In addition, when fusion was completed, occasional double lines of large particles transiently embossed the P face of the plasma membrane (postacrosomal) side of the fusion zone. Behind the line of fusion, another series of particle-cleared foci emerged. We interpreted these postfusion membrane clearances as a second adaptation for sperm-egg interaction. Induction of the acrosome reaction in media containing phosphatidylcholine liposomes resulted in their apparent attachment, incorporation, or exchange in both the originally and secondarily cleared regions. Our observations support the concepts that membranes become receptive to union at particle- deficient interfaces, and that the physiologically created barren areas in freeze-fracture replicas may herald incipient membrane fusion.     

Structure and antigenicity of the major specific glycolipid antigen of Mycobacterium leprae

Earlier we reported on the presence of a specific phenolic glycolipid (Phenolic Glycolipid-I) in Mycobacterium leprae, and in infected armadillo tissues (Hunter, S. W., and Brennan, P. J. (1981) J. Bacteriol. 147, 728-735). It had an inherent oligosaccharide, composed of 3-O-Me-rhamnose, 2,3-di-O-Me-rhamnose, and 3,6-di-O-Me-glucose, glycosidically linked to the phenol substituent. The structure of the oligosaccharide has now been determined, by partial acid hydrolysis, permethylation, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR as: 3,6-di-O-Me-Glcp(1 beta leads to 4)2,3-di-O-Me-Rhap(1 alpha leads to 2)3-O-Me-Rhap1 alpha leads to phenol (assuming that the glucose substituent is in the D-enantiomeric configuration, and the two methylated rhamnoses are L). Acid hydrolysis of deacylated Phenolic glycolipid-I yielded a phenolic phthiocerol "core," and mass spectrometry and proton NMR of the permethylated core suggested the following structure: (formula, see text) Combined gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry showed three tetramethyl branched "mycocerosic" acids, C30, C32 and C34, with molecular weights (as methyl esters) of 466, 494, and 522, respectively. These are esterified to the hydroxyl functions of the branched glycolic chain. Evidence is also presented that the glycolipid is immunologically active, reacting with rabbit antisera to M. leprae and with sera from lepromatous leprosy patients.     

Modifications of anionic-lipid domains preceding membrane fusion in guinea pig sperm

The relationship between anionic-lipid concentration and the functional properties of plasma-membrane domains was explored using the guinea-pig sperm membrane as a model, with polymyxin B (PXB) as a probe. Areas of plasmalemma specialized for fusion during the acrosome reaction had a higher affinity for the probe than adjacent nonfusigenic regions. In addition, capacitation--a process preceding acrosome:plasma-membrane fusion--markedly enlarged the area susceptible to PXB binding over the acrosomal cap. Protease treatment mimicked capacitation by increasing the acrosome-reaction incidence as well as PXB binding, at enzyme concentrations not affecting the surface coat nor altering filipin/sterol localization. Both proteolytic digestion and capacitation failed to augment PXB- or filipin-affinity in nonfusigenic zones, such as the post-acrosomal segment, including its particle-free maculae. Incubation of sperm in capacitating medium supplemented with 32P-labeled phosphate, followed by lipid extraction, thin-layer chromatography, and autoradiography, revealed a radioactive band comigrating with cardiolipin and phosphatidic acid. Vermiform protrusions elicited by PXB in the outer lamellae of cardiolipin- phosphatidylcholine liposomes resembled those seen in fusional regions of sperm membrane. We conclude that (a) differing concentrations of anionic lipids are found in adjacent domains of the sperm plasma membrane; (b) these domains mirror the functional regions of the membrane, with higher anionic-lipid concentrations localized over fusional zones; (c) the surface coat does not participate in the maintenance of such domains; (d) anionic-lipid synthesis may contribute to their formation; and (e) anionic-lipid concentrations increase as the membrane becomes fusionally competent, indicating that cellular modulation of lipid domains accompanies regulation of membrane function.     

Involvement of hydrogen peroxide in the regulation of senescence in pear

Endogenous peroxide levels in pear fruit (Pyrus communis) were measured using a titanium assay method, and were found to increase during senescence in both Bartlett and Bosc varieties. Application of glycolic acid or xanthine, serving as substrates for the formation of H₂O₂, increased the peroxide content of the tissue and accelerated the onset of ripening, as measured by increased softening and ethylene evolution. Application of ethylene also induced increased peroxide levels. Ripening processes were similarly promoted when peroxides were conserved by inhibiting the activity of catalase with hydroxylamine or potassium cyanide. By comparison, the inhibition of glycolate oxidase with alphahydroxy-2-pyridinemethanesulfonic acid decreased the peroxide content of the tissue and delayed the onset of ripening. These results indicate that the onset of ripening correlates with the peroxide content of fruit tissues as occurring under normal conditions or as influenced by the treatments. Hydrogen peroxide may be involved in oxidative processes required in the initiation and the promotion of ripening.     

Ultrastructural and histochemical observations on the tegument of Gastrodiscoides hominis (Paramphistoma: Digenea).

The tegument of the paramphistome, Gastrodiscoides hominis, is basically similar to that of other digeneans. It is folded into concentrically arranged furrows and ridges bearing numerous tightly packed tubercules, and extends into the oral cavity. An area of specialized tegument is present on the ventral surface, anterior to the disc region. Mitochondria are absent from the tegumental syncytium and underlying tegumental cells, suggesting that the tegument may serve principally as a protective layer rather than in active uptake phenomena. However, extensions of the lymph and parenchyma systems are closely associated with the base of the tegumental syncytium and may provide ATP for active processes. Ciliated and non-ciliated sensory papillae are present, particularly around the oral opening. Numerous lymph channels are present in the sub-tegument and may be involved in osmoregulation.