Host-cell reactivation of UV-irradiated and chemically-treated herpes simplex virus-1 by xeroderma pigmentosum, XP heterozygotes and normal skin fibroblasts

The host-cell reactivation of UV-irradiated and N-acetoxy-2-acetylamino-fluorene-treated herpes simplex virus type 1 strain MP was studied in normal and xeroderma pigmentosum human skin fibroblasts. Virus treated with either agent demonstrated lower survival in XP cells from complementation groups A, B, C and D than in normal fibroblasts. The relative reactivation ability of XP cells from the different genetic complementation groups was found to be the same for both irradiated and chemically treated virus. In addition, the inactivation kinetics for virus treated with either agent in the XP variant were comparable to that seen in normal skin fibroblasts. The addition of 2 or 4 mmoles caffeine to the post-infection assay medium had no effect on the inactivation kinetics of virus treated by either agent in the XP variant or in XP cells from the different genetic complementation groups. Treatment of the virus with nitrogen mustard resulted in equivalent survival in normal and XP genetic complementation group D cells. No apparent defect was observed in the ability of XP heterozygous skin fibroblasts to repair virus damaged with up to 100 μg N-acetoxy-2-acetylaminofluorene per ml. These findings indicate that the repair of UV-irradiated and N-acetoxy-2-acetylaminofluorene-treated virus is accomplished by the same pathway or different pathways sharing a common intermediate step and that the excision defect of XP cells plays little if any role in the reactivation of nitrogen mustard treated virus.     

Quartz fibers as templates for biopolymers

The polymerization of silica in water solution to form quartz fibers proceeds by a dehydration process, analogous to condensation polymerization in organic high-polymers, in which monomeric Si(OH)₄ groups unite through Si–O–Si bonds with the elimination of H₂O. The resulting fibers are structurally polar along the direction of elongation, are enantiomorphous, and generally shown stereospecific twisting around the direction of elongation. In these regards the fibers are analogues of biopolymers such as RNA and DNA. Quartz also possesses specific adsorptive relations to a wide range of organic substances including monomer amino acids, short-chain polypeptides, and proteins. These involve hydrogen-bonding between (OH) or silanoi groups on the surface of the quartz with active side-groups on the organic molecules and in part are epitaxial through dimensional coincidences in the interface.Geochemical evidence indicates that quartz was deposited in the early Precambrian ocean either by direct crystallization from seawater or by recrystallization of amorphous silica. What is of interest is the possible role of quartz fibers as a template and co-polymer in the passage of biomonomers in the pre-biotic ocean to the long-chain biopolymers such as nucleic acids and proteins that are involved in life processes.     

Further studies on carbon catabolite regulation of β-lactam antibiotic synthesis inCephalosporium acremonium

A high glucose concentration (6%) interfered with production of -lactam antibiotics byCephalosporium acremonium. Production rate of the pathway intermediate, penicillin N, by resting cells harvested from a high glucose fermentation, peaked and declined early in the fermentation. When cells were grown in the standard medium (2.7% glucose + 3.6% sucrose), penicillin N productivity was prolonged, showing two peaks, the first during trophophase and the second afterwards. The decline in productivity was not prevented by addition of the amino acid precursors of -lactam antibiotics. The addition of glucose to resting cells drastically decreased formation of the end product, cephalosporin C, but had only a moderate effect on penicillin N production. Glucose markedly repressed the ring-expansion enzyme (deacetoxy-cephalosporin C synthetase) but had a lesser effect on the tripeptide cyclization enzyme (isopenicillin N synthetase). We conclude that the major effect of a low (2%) or a high (6%) concentration of a rapidly used carbon source (e.g., glucose, glycerol, maltose) onC. acremonium fermentations is repression of the metabolically unstable ring-expansion enzyme and hence of formation of cephalosporins. On the other hand, the lesser degree of repression of the cyclization enzyme and itsin vivo stability allow penicillin N to accumulate normally or even at increased rates except at high carbon source concentrations.     

Feeding chronology,daily ration,and the effects of temperature upon gastric evacuation in the pipefish,Syngnathus fuscus

Synopsis Feeding chronology, daily ration, and the effects of temperature upon gastric evacuation were examined in the pipefish,Syngnathus fuscus, from field and laboratory data.S. fuscus displayed a pattern of diurnal feeding, characteristic of syngnathids. Daily ration calculations yielded estimates of 4.0 and 4.4% body weight per day, which are comparable to estimates for other teleosts. Evacuation rate was found to be temperature dependent. with more rapid evacuation with increasing temperature. In addition, evacuation rate was found to be positively correlated with gut content. Slowing of evacuation rate with decreasing gut content may allow for increased assimilation efficiency during periods of low food availability. Daily ration, although controlled by the temperature dependence of evacuation rate, may also be controlled by prey abundance; fish maximize food intake during periods of high prey availability, and maximize upon assimilation during periods of low prey availability.Contribution number 1035 of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science of the College of William and Mary.     

Disulfide-bonded discontinuous epitopes on the glycoprotein of vesicular stomatitis virus (New Jersey serotype).

Intrachain disulfide bonds between paired cysteines in the glycoprotein (G) of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) are required for the recognition of discontinuous epitopes by specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) (W. Keil and R. R. Wagner, Virology 170:392-407, 1989). Cleavage by Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease of the 517-amino-acid VSV-New Jersey G protein, limited to the glutamic acid at residue 110, resulted in a protein (designated GV8) with greatly retarded migration by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) under nonreducing conditions. By Western blot (immunoblot) analysis, protein GV8 was found to lose discontinuous epitope IV, which maps within the first 193 NH2-terminal amino acids. These data, coupled with those obtained by PAGE migration of a vector-expressed, truncated protein (G1-193) under reducing and nonreducing conditions, lead us to postulate the existence of a major loop structure within the first 193 NH2-terminal amino acids of the G protein, possibly anchored by a disulfide bond between cysteine 108 and cysteine 169, encompassing epitope IV. Site-directed mutants in which 10 of the 12 cysteines were individually converted to serines in vaccinia virus-based vectors expressing these single-site mutant G proteins were also constructed, each of which was then tested by immunoprecipitation for its capacity to recognize epitope-specific MAbs. These results showed that mutations in NH2-terminal cysteines 130, 174, and, to a lesser extent, 193 all resulted in the loss of neutralization epitope VIII. A mutation at NH2-terminal cysteine 130 also resulted in the loss of neutralization epitope VII, as did a mutation at cysteine 108 to a lesser extent. Both epitopes VII and VIII disappeared when mutations were made in COOH-distal cysteine 235, 240, or 273, the general map locations of epitopes VII and VIII. These studies also reveal that distal, as well as proximal, cysteine residues markedly influence the disulfide-bond secondary structure, which ostensibly determines the conformational structure of the VSV-New Jersey G protein required for presentation of the major discontinuous epitopes recognized by neutralizing MAbs.     

Glycoprotein IV of bovine herpesvirus 1-expressing cell line complements and rescues a conditionally lethal viral mutant.

Glycoprotein IV (gIV) of bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1), a homolog of herpes simplex virus glycoprotein D, represents a major component of the viral envelope and a dominant immunogen. To analyze the functional role of gIV during BHV-1 replication, cell line BUIV3-7, which constitutively expresses gIV, was constructed and used for the isolation of gIV- BHV-1 mutant 80-221, in which the gIV gene was replaced by a lacZ expression cassette. On complementing gIV-expressing cells, the gIV- BHV-1 replicated normally but was unable to form plaques and infectious progeny on noncomplementing cells. Further analysis showed that gIV is essential for BHV-1 entry into target cells, whereas viral gene expression, DNA replication, and envelopment appear unchanged in both noncomplementing and complementing cells infected with phenotypically complemented gIV- BHV-1. The block in entry could be overcome by polyethylene glycol-induced membrane fusion. After passaging of gIV- BHV-1 on complementing cells, a rescued variant, BHV-1res, was isolated and shown to underexpress gIV in comparison with its wild-type parent. Comparison of the penetration kinetics of BHV-1 wild type, phenotypically complemented gIV- BHV-1, and BHV-1res indicated that penetration efficiency correlated with the amount of gIV present in virus particles. In conclusion, we show that gIV of BHV-1 is an essential component of the virion involved in virus entry and that the amount of gIV in the viral envelope modulates the penetration efficiency of the virus.