Nitrogenase reactivity: methyl isocyanide as substrate and inhibitor

We have examined the interaction of methyl isocyanide with the purified component proteins of Azotobacter vinelandii nitrogenase (Av1 and Av2). CH3NC was shown to be a potent reversible inhibitor (Ki = 158 microM) of total electron flow, apparently uncoupling magnesium adenosine 5'-triphosphate hydrolysis from electron transfer to substrate. CH3NC is a substrate (Km = 0.688 mM at Av2/Av1 = 8), and extrapolation of the data indicates that at high enough CH3NC concentration, H2 evolution can be eliminated. The products are methane plus methylamine (six electrons) and dimethylamine (four electrons). There is an excess (relative to methane) of methylamine formed, which may arise by hydrolysis of a two-electron intermediate. A rapid high-performance liquid chromatography/fluorescence method was developed for methylamine determination. The products C2H4 and C2H6 appear to be formed via a reduction followed by an insertion mechanism. CH3NC appears to be reduced at an enzyme state more oxidized than the one responsible for H2 evolution or N2 reduction. Other substrates (C2H2 greater than N2 congruent to azide greater than N2O) all both relieve CH3NC inhibition and inhibit CH3NC reduction. Both effects occur in the same relative order, implying productive (substrate) and nonproductive (inhibitor) modes of binding of CH3NC to the same site.     

Monocyte Activation in HIV/HCV Coinfection Correlates with Cognitive Impairment

Coinfection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) challenges the immune system with two viruses that elicit distinct immune responses. Chronic immune activation is a hallmark of HIV infection and an accurate indicator of disease progression. Suppressing HIV viremia by antiretroviral therapy (ART) effectively prolongs life and significantly improves immune function. HIV/HCV coinfected individuals have peripheral immune activation despite effective ART control of HIV viral load. Here we examined freshly isolated CD14 monocytes for gene expression using high-density cDNA microarrays and analyzed T cell subsets, CD4 and CD8, by flow cytometry to characterize immune activation in monoinfected HCV and HIV, and HIV-suppressed coinfected subjects. To determine the impact of coinfection on cognition, subjects were evaluated in 7 domains for neuropsychological performance, which were summarized as a global deficit score (GDS). Monocyte gene expression analysis in HIV-suppressed coinfected subjects identified 43 genes that were elevated greater than 2.5 fold. Correlative analysis of subjects’ GDS and gene expression found eight genes with significance after adjusting for multiple comparisons. Correlative expression of six genes was confirmed by qPCR, five of which were categorized as type 1 IFN response genes. Global deficit scores were not related to plasma lipopolysaccharide levels. In the T cell compartment, coinfection significantly increased expression of activation markers CD38 and HLADR on both CD4 and CD8 T cells but did not correlate with GDS. These findings indicate that coinfection is associated with a type 1 IFN monocyte activation profile which was further found to correlate with cognitive impairment, even in subjects with controlled HIV infection. HIV-suppressed coinfected subjects with controlled HIV viral load experiencing immune activation could benefit significantly from successful anti-HCV therapy and may be considered as preferential candidates.     

cAMP-dependent protein kinase activation lowers hepatocyte cAMP

Rat hepatocyte protein kinase was activated by incubating the cells with various cAMP analogs. Boiled extracts were then prepared and Sephadex G-25 chromatography was carried out. The G-25 procedure separated the analogs from cAMP since the resin had the unexpected property of binding cyclic nucleotides with differing affinities. Separation was necessary because the analogs would otherwise interfere with the sensitive protein kinase activation method developed for assay of cAMP. The cAMP analogs, but not 5'-AMP, lowered basal cAMP by 50-70%. The effect was rapid, analog concentration-dependent, and occurred parallel with phosphorylase activation, suggesting that the cAMP analogs act through cAMP-dependent protein kinase activation. A cAMP analog completely blocked the cAMP elevation produced by relatively low concentrations of glucagon, but did not block the phosphorylase response, indicating that the cAMP analog substitutes for cAMP as the intracellular activator of protein kinase. One implication of the results is that elevation of cAMP and protein kinase activity by hormones has a negative feedback effect on the cellular cAMP level.     

The lipid composition and conversion of tryptamine toN b-acetyltryptamine in aCatharanthus roseus cell line without indole alkaloids

Summary A cell line, NA13-2, was selected as a rapidly growing colony of protoplasts from a UV(254 nm)-fluorescent cell line, NA13-1, which originated from a tryptamine-resistant strain ofCatharanthus roseus NA13. Cell line NA13-2 lost the capability to produce indole alkaloids. Tryptophan fed to these cells was converted toN _b-acetyltryptamine as the major product. The free acetyl coenzyme A content of NA13-2 cells was 50% higher than in the mother cells. The total lipid content of the NA13-2 cells was 2.5-fold that in the NA13 cells. In spite of the similarity in the fatty acid content to that of the mother cell line NA13, the total lipid extract of NA13-2 cells appeared as a wax instead of an oil, resulting from the presence of sterol esters.This paper was presented in part at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Industrial Microbiology, Boston, MA, 1985, and the International Congress of the Plant Tissue Culture Association, Minneapolis, MN, 1986.     

Influence of transmembrane domains on the fusogenic abilities of human and murine leukemia retrovirus envelopes.

The envelopes of two highly divergent oncoviruses, human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) and Friend murine leukemia virus (F-MuLV), have distinct patterns of cellular receptor recognition, fusion, and syncytium formation. To analyze the influence of the transmembrane envelope subunit (TM) on fusogenic properties, we substituted either the entire TM or distinct domains from F-MuLV for the corresponding domains in the HTLV-1 envelope. Parental, chimeric, and truncated envelopes cloned into a eukaryotic expression vector were monitored for fusogenic potential in human, rat, and murine indicator cell lines by using a quantitative assay. This highly sensitive assay allowed us to assess the fusogenic properties and syncytium-forming abilities of the HTLV-1 envelope in murine NIH 3T3 cells. All chimeric envelopes containing extracellular sequences of the F-MuLV TM were blocked in their maturation process. Although deletions of the HTLV-1 cytoplasmic domain, alone and in combination with the membrane-spanning domain, did not prevent envelope cell surface expression, they impaired and suppressed fusogenic properties, respectively. In contrast, envelopes carrying substitutions of membrane-spanning and cytoplasmic domains were highly fusogenic. Our results indicate that these two domains in F-MuLV and HTLV-1 constitute structural entities with similar fusogenic properties. However, in the absence of a cytoplasmic domain, the F-MuLV membrane-spanning domain appeared to confer weaker fusogenic properties than the HTLV-1 membrane-spanning domain.