Aflatoxicosis in rabbits: Effectiveness of Egyptian raw bentonite in prevention or diminution the detrimental effects of naturally aflatoxin contaminated diets

Thirty five females and 15 males of New Zealand White mature rabbits about 6 months of age, were assigned to 1–5 dietary treatments (7 does+3 bucks for each): uncontaminated control diet, naturally aflatoxin contaminated diet without or with 1,2 and 3% bentonite. Rabbit fed with the aflatoxin-diet had a decreased (P<0.01 or 0.05) physical semen characteristics of bucks and a reproductive performance traits of does. The values of conception rate (%), gestation length (days), litter size (n) and litter weights (g) at birth and viability (%) of litters of doe rabbits, fed with the aflatoxin-diet, recorded, respectively: 64.5; 31.0; 4.4; 275.0 and 57.1 versus 85.6; 30.3; 7.9; 508.0; and 100 for those fed with the uncontaminated diet. Addition of bentonite to the aflatoxin contaminated diet improved in general the physical semen characteristics of buck and reproductive performance traits of doe rabbits. The results of the study demonstrate that adding 1% of Egyptian raw bentonite to the naturally aflatoxin contaminated rabbit diets can provide an effective, cheap and safe practical technique for preventing the aflatoxicosis in mature rabbits.     

Location of the epidermal growth factor binding site on the EGF receptor. A resonance energy transfer study

As a first step toward developing a structural map of key sites on the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor, we have used resonance energy transfer to measure the distance of closest approach between the receptor-bound growth factor molecule and lipid molecules at the surface of the plasma membrane. EGF, specifically labeled at its amino terminus with fluorescein 5-isothiocyanate, was used as an energy donor in these experiments, while either octadecylrhodamine B or octadecylrhodamine 101, inserted into plasma membranes isolated from human epidermoid carcinoma (A431) cells, served as the energy acceptors. The energy transfer measurements indicate that the amino terminus of the bound growth factor is about 67 A away from the plasma membrane. On the basis of the dimensions of the EGF molecule, this suggests that EGF binds to a site on its receptor that is a considerable distance (52-82 A) from the surface of these cells. Identical results were obtained under conditions where the receptor functions as an active tyrosine kinase, suggesting that the relative juxtaposition of the EGF binding domain to the membrane surface does not change with receptor autophosphorylation or with the activation of the receptor tyrosine kinase activity.     

Transmembrane modulation of the concanavalin A inhibition of 5'-nucleotidase is not due to a direct association of the enzyme with the cytoskeleton

The inhibition of the cell surface enzyme 5'-nucleotidase by concanavalin A is being studied as a model for understanding transmembrane modulation of cell surface functions. Nucleotidase of 13762 MAT-C1 ascites rat mammary adenocarcinoma cells is inhibited by concanavalin A in a noncooperative process. When cells are treated with the cytoplasmic effectors cytochalasins, colchicine, energy poisons, calcium plus ionophore or hypotonic buffers, the concanavalin A inhibition of the enzyme becomes cooperative. 5'-Nucleotidase of isolated MAT-C1 microvilli is also inhibited by concanavalin A in a noncooperative process; however, treatment of the microvilli with the same cytoplasmic effectors does not induce cooperativity. Since previous studies in several systems have suggested an association of nucleotidase with actin-containing microfilaments or the cell cytoskeleton, one explanation for the cooperativity changes is that they result from a change in the association of the enzyme with the cytoskeleton. However, Triton X-100 extractability of nucleotidase is the same for MAT-C1 cells exhibiting cooperative or noncooperative concanavalin A inhibition. Moreover, enzyme from cells exhibiting cooperative inhibition can be extracted into the zwitterionic detergent Zwittergent in a cooperative form, while enzyme exhibiting noncooperative behavior can be extracted into Zwittergent in a noncooperative form. Gel filtration and rate-zonal sucrose density gradient centrifugation showed little discernible size or sedimentation difference between enzyme samples exhibiting noncooperative and cooperative inhibition. These results indicate that changes in the cooperativity of the concanavalin A inhibition of nucleotidase are not a result of changes in the association of the enzyme with the cytoskeleton. These studies emphasize the caution which must be exercised in interpreting the effects of cytoskeletal perturbants on cell surface functions.     

Biochemical comparisons of the normal and oncogenic forms of insect cell-expressed neu tyrosine kinases.

The rat neu oncogene product is a member of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor subgroup of the superfamily of growth factor receptor tyrosine kinases. The oncogenic activation of the neu protein occurs by a point mutation within its transmembrane region which results in an increase in its tyrosine kinase activity. Using three different forms of neu expressed in insect cells via baculovirus infection, we have examined the biochemical differences between the normal and transforming forms of neu and investigated the role of the transmembrane domain in its tyrosine kinase activity. One form of neu which was expressed in insect cells consisted of the complete tyrosine kinase domain but lacked the extracellular and transmembrane regions (designated NTK). The other two forms consisted of the tyrosine kinase domain, the transmembrane domain, and 40 amino acids of the extracellular domain. One of these transmembrane forms of neu contained the normal valine residue at position 664 within the transmembrane region (MS-N), while the other contained the oncogenic glutamic acid residue at this position (MS-T). Direct comparisons of NTK, MS-N, and MS-T have shown that the NTK protein is capable of the highest extents of both autophosphorylation activity and the tyrosine phosphorylation of exogenous substrate, suggesting that the presence of the transmembrane region of neu suppresses the tyrosine kinase activity of this receptor. In addition, we have found that the oncogenic point mutation within the transmembrane region stimulates the tyrosine kinase activity of the neu protein by allowing it to more effectively utilize Mg2+. Overall, the results of these studies suggest that the valine to glutamic acid substitution at position 664 may at least partially relieve a negative constraint imparted by the membrane-spanning domain on the tyrosine kinase activity of neu and enables a more effective use of Mg2+ in the catalysis of tyrosine phosphorylation of exogenous substrates.     

Identification of genetic heterogeneity in the Cryptosporidium parvum ribosomal repeat.

Oocysts of the protozoan parasite Cryptosporidium parvum are found in most surface waters and can contaminate municipal water supplies, as demonstrated by recent outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis. A method capable of fingerprinting C. parvum isolates from the environment would facilitate the study of epidemiology and transmission cycles and aid in the implementation of preventive measures to reduce water contamination by oocytes. In this study, we report polymorphism in C. parvum isolates on the basis of analysis of random amplified polymorphic DNA and nucleotide sequences in a region of the 18S rRNA and the internal transcribed spacer 1. Isolate-specific primers for these two regions were designed, and PCR tests capable of discriminating between isolates were developed. In both PCR assays, the five C. parvum isolates analyzed segregated into two subgroups. One group consisted of isolates that originated directly from human patients, and the other group had various host origins and had been propagated in laboratory animals. These results demonstrate the feasibility of distinguishing C. parvum isolates by sequence-specific PCR tests.     

Compensatory substitutions and the evolution of the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene in mammals

12S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequences from a suite of mammalian taxa (13 placentals, 4 marsupials, 1 monotreme), for which phylogenetic relationships are well established based on independent criteria, were employed to study the evolution of this gene. Phylogenetic analysis of 12S sequences produces a phylogeny that agrees with expectations. Base composition provides evidence for directional symmetrical substitution pressure in loops; in stems, base composition is much more even. Rates of nucleotide substitution are lower in stems than loops. Patterns of nucleotide substitution show an overall preference for transitions over transversions, with this difference more profound in stems than loops. Among different transversion pathways, there is a wide range of transformation frequencies. An analysis of compensatory substitutions shows that there is strong evidence for their occurrence and that a weighting factor of 0.61 should be applied in phylogenetic analyses to account for the dependence of mutations at stem positions relative to positions where changes are independent. Among stem variables (i.e., stem length, interaction distance, substitution rates, G+C content, and the percentage of bases that are paired), several significant correlations were discovered, but stem length and interaction distance are uncorrelated with other variables.