Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury in the inducible nitric oxide synthase knockout mice.

Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) plays an important role in the inflammatory process of certain major cardiac disorders including myocardial infarction and allograft rejection. However, the role of iNOS in acute myocardial ischemia has not been well defined. We determined the effects of genetically disruption of the intact iNOS system on cardiac tolerance to ischemia/reperfusion injury. Adult male wild-type (WT) and iNOS knockout (KO) B6,129 mice were subjected to 20 min global ischemia and 30 min reperfusion in a Langendorff isolated perfused heart model (37 degrees C, n = 10/each group). Ventricular contractile function, heart rate, coronary flow, and leakage of intracellular enzymes (CK and LDH) were not significantly different between the groups during pre-ischemia as well as reperfusion period (P > 0.05). Myocardial infarct size was also not significantly different between WT (20.2+/-2.0% of risk area) and KO mice (23.5+/-3.8%; Mean+/-SEM, P > 0.05). However, the post-ischemic heart rate was significantly preserved in KO as compared to WT (P < 0.05). We conclude that disruption of iNOS gene does not exacerbate ischemia/ reperfusion injury in the heart.     

The Value of Alcohol for Fixation of Skin

Stained sections of skin fixed in 70% alcohol were compared with others from pieces fixed in 4% formaldehyde-saline. The sections of alcohol-fixed material were much more susceptible to the action of deoxyribonuclease and lipase than those from formalin-fixed, as demonstrated by a standardized hematoxylin staining method and by fluorescence microscopy. After formalin, cytoplasmic basophilia was increased, presumably because formalin fixation caused ribonucleic acid to diffuse from nuclei to cytoplasm. Both types of fixation damaged collagen, as seen in fluorescence induced by 5-anvmo-2-chloro-7-methoxyacridine, but alcohol caused less distortion than formalin. Probably fluorochroming of fresh tissue is the only satisfactory method for studying collagen in pathological conditions.     

Local paleoenvironmental controls on the carbon‐isotope record defining the Bitter Springs Anomaly

Large magnitude (>10‰) carbon‐isotope (δ¹³C) excursions recorded in carbonate‐bearing sediments are increasingly used to monitor environmental change and constrain the chronology of the critical interval in the Neoproterozoic stratigraphic record that is timed with the first appearance and radiation of metazoan life. The ~10‰ Bitter Springs Anomaly preserved in Tonian‐aged (1000–720 Ma) carbonate rocks in the Amadeus Basin of central Australia has been offered as one of the best preserved examples of a primary marine δ¹³C excursion because it is regionally reproducible and δ¹³C values covary in organic and carbonate carbon arguing against diagenetic exchange. However, here we show that δ¹³C values defining the excursion coincide with abrupt lithofacies changes between regularly cyclic grainstone and microbial carbonates, and desiccated red bed mudstones with interbedded evaporite and dolomite deposits, recording local environmental shifts from restricted marine conditions to alkaline lacustrine and playa settings that preserve negative (?4‰) and positive (+6‰) δ¹³C values, respectively. The stratigraphic δ¹³C pattern in both organic and carbonate carbon recurs within the basin in a similar way to associated sedimentary facies, reflecting the linkage of local paleoenvironmental conditions and δ¹³C values. These local excursions may be time transgressive or record a relative sea‐level influence manifest through exposure of sub‐basins isolated by sea‐level fall below shallow sills, but are independent of secular seawater variation. As the shallow intracratonic setting of the Bitter Springs Formation is typical of other Neoproterozoic carbonate successions used to construct the present δ¹³C seawater record, it identifies the potential for local influences on δ¹³C excursions that are neither diagenetic nor representative of the global exogenic cycle.     

IGFBP-3 Can Either Inhibit or Enhance EGF-mediated Growth of Breast Epithelial Cells Dependent upon the Presence of Fibronectin

Progression of breast cancer is associated with remodeling of the extracellular matrix, often involving a switch from estrogen dependence to a dependence on EGF receptor (EGFR)/HER-2 and is accompanied by increased expression of the main binding protein for insulin-like growth factors (IGFBP-3). We have examined the effects of IGFBP-3 on EGF responses of breast epithelial cells in the context of changes in the extracellular matrix. On plastic and laminin with MCF-10A normal breast epithelial cells, EGF and IGFBP-3 each increased cell growth and together produced a synergistic response, whereas with T47D breast cancer cells IGFBP-3 alone had no effect, but the ability of EGF to increase cell proliferation was markedly inhibited in the presence of IGFBP-3. In contrast on fibronectin with MCF-10A cells, IGFBP-3 alone inhibited cell growth and blocked EGF-induced proliferation. With the cancer cells, IGFBP-3 alone had no effect but enhanced the EGF-induced increase in cell growth. The insulin-like growth factor-independent effects of IGFBP-3 alone on cell proliferation were completely abrogated in the presence of an EGFR, tyrosine kinase inhibitor, Iressa. Although IGFBP-3 did not affect EGFR phosphorylation [Tyr¹⁰⁶⁸], it was found to modulate receptor internalization and was associated with activation of Rho and subsequent changes in MAPK phosphorylation. The levels of fibronectin and IGFBP-3 within breast tumors may determine their dependence on EGFR and their response to therapies targeting this receptor.     

A limit on the extent to which increased egg size can compensate for a poor postnatal environment revealed experimentally in the burying beetle,Nicrophorus vespilloides

It is often assumed that there is a positive relationship between egg size and offspring fitness. However, recent studies have suggested that egg size has a greater effect on offspring fitness in low‐quality environments than in high‐quality environments. Such observations suggest that mothers may compensate for poor posthatching environments by increasing egg size. In this paper we test whether there is a limit on the extent to which increased egg size can compensate for the removal of posthatching parental care in the burying beetle, Nicrophorus vespilloides. Previous experiments with N. vespilloides suggest that an increased egg size can compensate for a relatively poor environment after hatching. Here, we phenotypically engineered female N. vespilloides to produce large or small eggs by varying the amount of time they were allowed to feed on the carcass as larvae. We then tested whether differences between these groups in egg size translated into differences in larval performance in a harsh postnatal environment that excluded parental care. We found that females engineered to produce large eggs did not have higher breeding success, and nor did they produce larger larvae than females engineered to produce small eggs. These results suggest that there is a limit on the extent to which increased maternal investment in egg size can compensate for a poor posthatching environment. We discuss the implication of our results for a recent study showing that experimental N. vespilloides populations can adapt rapidly to the absence of posthatching parental care.     

Phosphorylation of dystrophin and alpha-syntrophin by Ca(2+)-calmodulin dependent protein kinase II.

A Ca(2+)-calmodulin dependent protein kinase activity (DGC-PK) was previously shown to associate with skeletal muscle dystrophin glycoprotein complex (DGC) preparations, and phosphorylate dystrophin and a protein with the same electrophoretic mobility as alpha-syntrophin (R. Madhavan, H.W. Jarrett, Biochemistry 33 (1994) 5797-5804). Here, we show that DGC-PK and Ca(2+)-calmodulin dependent protein kinase II (CaM kinase II) phosphorylate a common site (RSDS(3616)) within the dystrophin C terminal domain that fits the consensus CaM kinase II phosphorylation motif (R/KXXS/T). Furthermore, both kinase activities phosphorylate exactly the same three fusion proteins (dystrophin fusions DysS7 and DysS9, and the syntrophin fusion) out of a panel of eight fusion proteins (representing nearly 100% of syntrophin and 80% of dystrophin protein sequences), demonstrating that DGC-PK and CaM kinase II have the same substrate specificity. Complementing these results, anti-CaM kinase II antibodies specifically stained purified DGC immobilized on nitrocellulose membranes. Renaturation of electrophoretically resolved DGC proteins revealed a single protein kinase band (M(r) approximately 60,000) that, like CaM kinase II, underwent Ca(2+)-calmodulin dependent autophosphorylation. Based on these observations, we conclude DGC-PK represents a dystrophin-/syntrophin-phosphorylating skeletal muscle isoform of CaM kinase II. We also show that phosphorylation of the dystrophin C terminal domain sequences inhibits their syntrophin binding in vitro, suggesting a regulatory role for phosphorylation.     

Spectroscopic changes during a single turnover of biotin synthase: destruction of a [2Fe-2S] cluster accompanies sulfur insertion.

Biotin synthase catalyzes the insertion of a sulfur atom between the saturated C6 and C9 carbons of dethiobiotin. Catalysis requires AdoMet and flavodoxin and generates 5'-deoxyadenosine and methionine, suggesting that biotin synthase is an AdoMet-dependent radical enzyme. Biotin synthase (BioB) is aerobically purified as a dimer of 38.4 kDa monomers that contains 1-1.5 [2Fe-2S](2+) clusters per monomer and can be reconstituted with exogenous iron, sulfide, and reductants to contain up to two [4Fe-4S] clusters per monomer. The iron-sulfur clusters may play a dual role in biotin synthase: a reduced iron-sulfur cluster is probably involved in radical generation by mediating the reductive cleavage of AdoMet, while recent in vitro labeling studies suggest that an iron-sulfur cluster also serves as the immediate source of sulfur for the biotin thioether ring. Consistent with this dual role for iron-sulfur clusters in biotin synthase, we have found that the protein is stable, containing one [2Fe-2S](2+) cluster and one [4Fe-4S](2+) cluster per monomer. In the present study, we demonstrate that this mixed cluster state is essential for optimal activity. We follow changes in the Fe and S content and UV/visible and EPR spectra of the enzyme during a single turnover and conclude that during catalysis the [4Fe-4S](2+) cluster is preserved while the [2Fe-2S](2+) cluster is destroyed. We propose a mechanism for incorporation of sulfur into dethiobiotin in which a sulfur atom is oxidatively extracted from the [2Fe-2S](2+) cluster.     

Retinoids induce integrin-independent lymphocyte adhesion through RAR-α nuclear receptor activity

Oxidative metabolites of vitamin A, in particular all-trans-retinoic acid (atRA), have emerged as key factors in immunity by specifying the localization of immune cells to the gut. Although it is appreciated that isomers of retinoic acid activate the retinoic acid receptor (RAR) and retinoid X receptor (RXR) family of nuclear receptors to elicit cellular changes, the molecular details of retinoic acid action remain poorly defined in immune processes. Here we employ a battery of agonists and antagonists to delineate the specific nuclear receptors utilized by retinoids to evoke lymphocyte cell adhesion to ADAM (adisintegrin and metalloprotease) protein family members. We report that RAR agonism is sufficient to promote immune cell adhesion in both immortal and primary immune cells. Interestingly, adhesion occurs independent of integrin function, and mutant studies demonstrate that atRA-induced adhesion to ADAM members required a distinct binding interface(s) as compared to integrin recognition. Anti-inflammatory corticosteroids as well as 1,25-(OH)₂D₃, a vitamin D metabolite that prompts immune cell trafficking to the skin, potently inhibited the observed adhesion. Finally, our data establish that induced adhesion was specifically attributable to the RAR-α receptor isotype. The current study provides novel molecular resolution as to which nuclear receptors transduce retinoid exposure into immune cell adhesion.     

Polymorphic microsatellite loci for studies of the Ozark hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi)

The hellbender is the only North American member of the aquatic salamander family Cryptobranchidae and is a species of conservation concern across its range. We developed eight polymorphic microsatellite loci for hellbenders using a magnetic bead enrichment protocol and a PCR-based detection technique. Allelic diversity averaged 4.0 (±1.8 SD) per locus and heterozygosity averaged 0.56 (±0.30 SD). The hellbender is rare and difficult to study due to its cryptic life history. These loci will provide a valuable resource for population studies, which could inform future conservation and management decisions.     

Amyloid fibril formation requires a chemically discriminating nucleation event: studies of an amyloidogenic sequence from the bacterial protein OsmB.

The sequence of the Escherichia coli OsmB protein was found to resemble that of the C-terminal region of the beta amyloid protein of Alzheimer's disease, which seems to be the major determinant of its unusual structural and solubility properties. A peptide corresponding to residues 28-44 of the OsmB protein was synthesized, and its conformational properties and aggregation behavior were analyzed. The peptide OsmB(28-44) was shown to form amyloid fibrils, as did two sequence analogs designed to test the sequence specificity of fibril formation. These fibrils bound Congo red, and two of the peptides showed birefringence. The peptide fibrils were analyzed by electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Subtle differences were observed which were not interpretable at the molecular level. The rate of fibril formation by each peptide was followed by monitoring the turbidity of supersaturated aqueous solutions. The kinetics of aggregation were characterized by a delay period during which the solution remained clear, followed by a nucleation event which led to a growth phase, during which the solution became viscous and turbid due to the presence of insoluble fibrils. The observation of a kinetic barrier to aggregation is typical of a crystallization event. The delay period could be eliminated by seeding the supersaturated solution with previously formed fibrils. Each peptide could be nucleated by fibrils formed from that same peptide, but not by fibrils from closely related sequences, suggesting that fibril growth requires specific hydrophobic interactions. It appears likely that this repeated sequence motif, which comprises most of the OsmB protein sequence, dictates the structure and possibly the function of that protein.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)