溴氰菊酯对鼠脑蛋白质磷酸化作用的影响

以小鼠大脑碎片与[γ-~(32)P]ATP一起保温,观察到溴氰菊酯对蛋白1—3磷酸化的刺激作用和对4、5磷酸化的抑制作用,表明溴氰菊酯对大脑蛋白质磷酸化产生了影响。从鼠脑分离了C、D、S三个组分,分别进行的蛋白质磷酸化试验结果表明,C、D组分可能是重要的磷酸化部位。 蛋白1、2、3的磷酸化明显地受到溴氰菊酯的刺激,这三个蛋白质可能是“蛋白Ⅲb”的几种形式。溴氰菊酯对“蛋白Ⅲb”磷酸化的刺激,可能会影响神经末梢的神经激素释放,从而影响到与其相关的某些神经功能。     

城市中的伴人植物

伴人植物分布于城市中的许多地方,常被视为杂草而清除。本文论述了城市伴人植物的特点、分布,及其在城市环境保护及美化中的作用,最后列出了北方城市中一些常见伴人植物的名称。     

Structure-function studies on bacteriorhodopsin. VIII. Substitutions of the membrane-embedded prolines 50, 91, and 186: the effects are determined by the substituting amino acids

To study their role in the structure and function of bacteriorhodopsin, three prolines, presumed to be in the membrane-embedded alpha-helices, have been individually replaced as follows: Pro-50 and Pro-91 each by Gly and Ala and Pro-186 by Ala, Gly, and Val. The mutants of Pro-50 and Pro-91 all showed normal chromophore and proton pumping. However, the rates of regeneration of the chromophore in Pro-50----Ala, Pro-91----Ala and ----Gly with all-trans-retinal were about 30-fold slower than that in the wild-type, whereas the chromophore regeneration rate in Pro-50----Gly was 10-fold faster than in the wild-type. While, Pro-186----Ala regenerated the wild-type chromophore, the mutants Pro-186----Val and Pro-186----Gly showed large blue shifts (about 80 nm) in the chromophore regenerated with all-trans-retinal and showed no apparent dark-light adaptation. Pro-186----Gly first regenerated the wild-type chromophore with 13-cis-retinal which was thermally unstable and rapidly converted to the blue-shifted chromophore obtained with all-trans-retinal. High salt concentration restored the wild-type purple chromophore in the Pro-186----Gly mutant. Thus, in this mutant, the protein interconverts between two conformational states. Pro-186----Ala and Pro-186----Gly showed about 65%, whereas Pro-186----Val showed 10-20% of the normal proton pumping.     

Anticoagulant activity of synthetic hirudin peptides

Synthetic peptides based on the COOH-terminal 21 residues of hirudin were prepared in order to 1) evaluate the role of this segment in hirudin action toward thrombin, 2) define the shortest peptide derivative with anticoagulant activity, and 3) investigate the role of tyrosine sulfation in the peptides' inhibitory activities. A hirudin derivative of 20 amino acids, Hir45-64 (derived from residues 45-64 of the hirudin polypeptide), was found to effect a dose-dependent increase in the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) of normal human plasma but to have no measurable inhibitory activity toward thrombin cleavage of a tripeptidyl p-nitroanilide substrate. Anticoagulant activity in hirudin derivatives was comparable in peptides of 20, 16, and 12 residues truncated from the NH2 terminus. Additional truncated peptides prepared by synthesis and carboxypeptidase treatment reveal that the minimal sequence of a hirudin peptide fragment with maximal anticoagulant activity is contained within the sequence: NH2-Asn-Gly-Asp-Phe-Glu-Glu-Ile-Pro-Glu-Glu-Tyr-Leu-COOH. The 12-residue derivative thus identified was reacted with dicyclohexylcarbodiimide in the presence of sulfuric acid to yield a Tyr-sulfated peptide, S-Hir53-64. By comparison to unsulfated peptide, S-Hir53-64 was found to contain a specific inhibitory activity enhanced by one order of magnitude toward increase in APTT and to effect a dose-dependent increase in thrombin time of normal human plasma to yield a 4-fold increase in thrombin time with 2.5 micrograms/ml peptide using 0.8 units/ml alpha-thrombin. Comparison of S-Hir53-64 to hirudin in thrombin time and APTT assays reveals a 50-fold difference in molar specific activities toward inhibition of thrombin. Comparison of antithrombin activities of S-Hir53-64 using a variety of animal thrombins demonstrates greatest inhibitory activity toward murine, rat, and human enzymes and a 10-fold reduced activity toward bovine thrombin.     

The genetical control of tissue-specific peroxidases,Per-1,Per-2,Per-3,Per-4, andPer-5 in wheat

Summary Isoelectric focusing (IEF) of extracts from different tissues of hexaploid wheat cv Chinese Spring provided a method of distinguishing and identifying the four known, and one newly discovered, sets of genes encoding peroxidase isozyme production.Per-1, carried on the short arms of homoeologous group 1 chromosomes, shows a high degree of conservation and is active in coleoptile tissue.Per-2, carried on the short arms of group 2 chromosomes, shows some polymorphism and is most active in root tissue.Per-3, on the long arms of group 3 chromosomes, is highly variable and most active in embryo tissue.Per-4, carried on chromosome arms7AS,4AL, and7DS, is quite variable and most active in endosperm tissue. (The chromosome nomenclature used in this paper is that agreed to by the 7th International Wheat Genetics Symposium, where the previous designations of4A and4B were reversed.) Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP)-based maps of the group 7 chromosomes were used to locatePer-A4 to a distal region of7AS. In addition, a further set of genes was identified as being active in root tissue. In wheat a single locus,Per-D5, was found on chromosome arm2DS.     

vif-negative human immunodeficiency virus type 1 persistently replicates in primary macrophages, producing attenuated progeny virus.

The vif gene of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is required for efficient infection of primary T lymphocytes. In this study, we investigated in detail the role of vif in productive infection of primary monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM). Viruses carrying missense or deletion mutations in vif were constructed on the background of the monocytotropic recombinant NLHXADA-GP. Using MDM from multiple donors, we found that vif mutants produced in complementing or partially complementing cell lines were approximately 10% as infectious as wild-type virus when assayed for incomplete, complete, and circularized viral DNA molecules by quantitative PCR amplification or for viral core antigen p24 production by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We then determined the structure and infectivity of vif mutant HIV-1 by using MDM exclusively both for virus production and as targets for infection. Biosynthetic labeling and immunoprecipitation analysis of sucrose cushion-purified vif-negative HIV-1 made in MDM revealed that the virus had reduced p24 content compared with wild-type HIV-1. Cell-free MDM-derived vif mutant HIV-1 was infectious in macrophages as determined by the synthesis and maintenance of full-length viral DNA and by the produc- tion of particle-associated viral RNA, but its infectivity was approximately 2,500-fold lower than that of wild-type virus whose titer was determined in parallel by measurement of the viral DNA burden. MDM infected with MDM-derived vif-negative HIV-1 were able to transmit the virus to uninfected MDM by cocultivation, confirming the infectiousness of this virus. We conclude that mutations in vif significantly reduce but do not eliminate the capacity of HIV-1 to replicate and produce infectious progeny virus in primary human macrophages.     

Assays for the effects of volatile compounds from artificially damaged cotyledons of subterranean clover on the redlegged earth mite, Halotydeus destructor

The effects on the redlegged earth mite (Halotydeus destructor) (Acarina: Penthaleidae) of volatile compounds released from artificially damaged cotyledons of subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.), a host plant, were investigated with different assays. Mites were repelled by the volatile compounds in flask tube and in trimmed cotyledon disc tests. No differences could be shown between different tissue amounts and between resistant and susceptible varieties. When a membrane sachet was used containing either 2-(E)-hexenal, a compound produced by damaged subclover cotyledons, or the total volatile compounds collected from damaged cotyledons of Dalkeith (susceptible) admixed with 1% glucose, mites gathered to low but were deterred by high concentrations of the compounds. Volatile compounds collected from the resistant variety DGI007 were more deterrent than those from the susceptible Dalkeith. Membrane sachets containing 30 p.p.m. of 2-(E)-hexenal and 1% glucose were less preferred than cotyledons of Dalkeith (susceptible) but were not different from DGI007 (resistant). By increasing the glucose concentration to 5%, the membrane sachets with 30 p.p.m. of 2-(E)-hexenal were preferred to cotyledons of either variety. The results indicate that the membrane feeding technique provides a sensitive way of assaying volatile compounds from damaged subclover cotyledons against the mite.