Myoglobin content and citrate synthase activity in different parts of the normal human heart

Myoglobin (Mb) content and citrate synthase (CS) activity were determined in myocardial samples from nine human brain-dead organ donors with normal hearts. Six regions of each heart were analyzed: right and left atria, right ventricle, left ventricular subepicardium, subendocardium, and anterior papillary muscle. The Mb content was similar, whereas the CS activity was higher in the left than in the right heart at both atrial and ventricular levels. Mb content and CS activity were higher in ventricles than in atria. The subendocardial layer and papillary muscle of the left ventricle had a higher Mb content than the subepicardial layer, whereas CS activity was similar in these three locations. The results suggested a closer relationship between CS activity (oxidative potential) and work load than between Mb content and work load. Mb content may, instead, be related to intramuscular oxygen tension (PO2) on the basis of a comparison between our Mb data and those of others on regional variations in myocardial PO2.     

Structural Variation in the Nasal Bone Region of European Moose (Alces Alces L.)

The ontogeny of typical (normal) nasal bone region of the European moose (Alces alces L.) and the 3 variants of the pattern, was studied. The variants, named as “extra bone type”, “punctured type” and “open type” referring the morphology of the internasal suture, were originally observed in Finnish male and female moose skulls in 1971. All of the variants were later found in hunting trophy exhibitions presenting male moose trophies from Sweden, Norway, Baltic Republics of USSR and Poland. The frequencies of the variants showed regional differences. By using histological, radiological and OTC bone labelling methods, all of the nasal bone types were observed in this study in embryonal (N=36), newborn (N=21), juvenile (N=38) and adult (N=12) moose. Two twin embryos showed different nasal bone structure. The variation is considered to be of congenital origin.     

L-lysine Transport in Chicken Jejunal Brush Border Membrane Vesicles

The properties of l-lysine transport in chicken jejunum have been studied in brush border membrane vesicles isolated from 6-wk-old birds. l-lysine uptake was found to occur within an osmotically active space with significant binding to the membrane. The vesicles can accumulate l-lysine against a concentration gradient, by a membrane potential-sensitive mechanism. The kinetics of l-lysine transport were described by two saturable processes: first, a high affinity-transport system (K _mA= 2.4 ± 0.7 μmol/L) which recognizes cationic and also neutral amino acids with similar affinity in the presence or absence of Na⁺ (l-methionine inhibition constant K_iA, NaSCN = 21.0 ± 8.7 μmol/L and KSCN = 55.0 ± 8.4 μmol/L); second, a low-affinity transport mechanism (K_mB= 164.0 ± 13.0 μmol/L) which also recognizes neutral amino acids. This latter system shows a higher affinity in the presence of Na⁺ (K_iB for l-methionine, NaSCN = 1.7 ± 0.3 and KSCN = 3.4 ± 0.9 mmol/L). l-lysine influx was significantly reduced with N-ethylmaleimide (0.5 mmol/L) treatment. Accelerative exchange of extravesicular labeled l-lysine was demonstrated in vesicles preloaded with 1 mmol/L l-lysine, l-arginine or l-methionine. Results support the view that l-lysine is transported in the chicken jejunum by two transport systems, A and B, with properties similar to those described for systems b ^0,+ and y⁺, respectively. Received: 14 August 1995/Revised: 2 April 1996     

Patterns of nucleotide change in mitochondrial ribosomal RNA genes and the phylogeny of piranhas

The patterns and rates of nucleotide substitution in mitochondrial ribosomal RNA genes are described and applied in a phylogenetic analysis of fishes of the subfamily Serrasalminae (Teleostei, Characiformes, Characidae). Fragments of 345 bp of the 12S and 535 bp of the 16S genes were sequenced for 37 taxa representing all but three genera in the subfamily. Secondary-structure models based on comparative sequence analysis were derived to characterize the pattern of change among paired and unpaired nucleotides, forming stem and loop regions, respectively. Base compositional biases were in the direction of A-rich loops and G-rich stems. Ninety-five percent of substitutions in stem regions were compensatory mutations, suggesting that selection for maintenance of base pairing is strong and that independence among characters cannot be assumed in phylogenetic analyses of stem characters. The relative rate of nucleotide substitution was similar in both fragments sequenced but higher in loop than in stem regions. In both genes, C-T transitions were the most common type of change, and overall transitions outnumbered transversions by a factor of two in 16S and four in 12S. Phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial DNA sequences suggests that a clade formed by the generaPiaractus, Colossoma, andMylossoma is the sister group to all other serrasalmins and that the generaMyleus, Serrasalmus, andPristobrycon are paraphyletic. A previous hypothesis concerning relationships for the serrasalmins, based on morphological evidence, is not supported by the molecular data. However, phylogenetic analysis of host-specific helminth parasites and cytogenetic data support the phylogeny of the Serrasalminae obtained in this study and provide evidence for coevolution between helminth parasites and their fish hosts.     

CORRELATED BIOCHEMICAL AND ULTRASTRUCTURAL CHANGES IN NITROGEN-STARVED EUGLENA GRACILIS1

Growth of Euglena gracilis Z Pringsheim under photoheterotrophic conditions in a nitrogen-deprived medium resulted in progressive loss of chloroplastic material until total bleaching of the cells occurred. Biochemical analysis and ultrastructural observation of the first stages of the starvation process demonstrated an early lag phase (from 0 to 9 h) in which cells increased in size, followed by a period of cell division, apparently supported by the mobilization of some chloroplastic proteins such as the photosynthetic CO₂-fixing enzyme ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase. The degradation of the enzyme started after 9 h of starvation and was preceded by a transient concentration of this protein in pyrenoidal structures. Protein nitrogen and photosynthetic pigments as well as number of chloroplasts per cell decreased during proliferation through mere distribution among daughter cells. However, after 24 h, when cell division had almost ceased, there was a slow but steady decline of photosynthetic pigments. This was paralleled by observable ultrastructural changes including progressive loss of chloroplast structure and accumulation of paramylon granules and lipid globules in the cytoplasm. These findings reinforce the role of chloroplastic materials as a nitrogen source during starvation of E. gracilis in a carbon-rich medium. The excess of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase acts as a first reservoir that, once exhausted, is superseded by the generalized disassembly of the photosynthetic structures, if the adverse environment persists more than 24 h.     

Mutational analysis identifies functional domains in the influenza A virus PB2 polymerase subunit.

A collection of influenza virus PB2 mutant genes was prepared, including N-terminal deletions, C-terminal deletions, and single-amino-acid insertions. These mutant genes, driven by a T7 promoter, were expressed by transfection into COS-1 cells infected with a vaccinia virus encoding T7 RNA polymerase. Mutant proteins accumulated to levels similar to that of wild-type PB2. Immunofluorescence analyses showed that the C-terminal region of the protein is essential for nuclear transport and that internal sequences affect nuclear localization, confirming previous results (J. Mukaijawa and D. P. Nayak, J. Virol. 65:245-253, 1991). The biological activity of these mutants was tested by determining their capacity to (i) reconstitute RNA polymerase activity in vivo by cotransfection with proteins NP, PB1, and PA and a virion-like RNA encoding the cat gene into vaccinia virus T7-infected COS-1 cells and (ii) complete with the wild-type PB2 activity. In addition, when tested at different temperatures in vivo, two mutant PB2 proteins showed a temperature-sensitive phenotype. The lack of interference shown by some N-terminal deletion mutants and the complete interference obtained with a C-terminal deletion mutant encoding only 124 amino acids indicated that this protein domain is responsible for interaction with another component of the polymerase, probably PB1. To further characterize the mutants, their ability to induce in vitro synthesis of viral cRNA or mRNA was tested by using ApG or beta-globin mRNA as a primer. One of the mutants, 1299, containing an isoleucine insertion at position 299, was able to induce cRNA and mRNA synthesis in ApG-primed reactions but required a higher beta-globin mRNA concentration than wild-type PB2 for detection of in vitro synthesis. This result suggested that mutant I299 has diminished cap-binding activity.     

Parvovirus minute virus of mice strain i multiplication and pathogenesis in the newborn mouse brain are restricted to proliferative areas and to migratory cerebellar young neurons.

Newborn BALB/c mice intranasally inoculated at birth with a lethal dose of the immunosuppressive strain of the parvovirus minute virus of mice (MVMi) developed motor disabilities and intention tremors with a high incidence by the day 6 postinfection (dpi). These neurological syndromes paralleled the synthesis of virus intermediate DNA replicative forms and yield of infectious particles in the brain, with kinetics that peaked by this time. The preferred virus replicative sites in the brain were established early in the infection (2 dpi) and at the onset of clinical symptoms (6 dpi) and were compared with major regions of cellular proliferative activity found after intraperitoneal injection of bromodeoxyuridine 24 h before encephalons were subjected to immunohistochemistry detection. At 2 dpi, viral capsid antigen was located in the laterodorsal thalamic and the pontine nuclei but not in the extensive proliferative regions of the mouse brain at this postnatal day. At 6 dpi, however, the neurotropism of the MVMi was highlighted by its ability to target the subventricular zone of the ventricles, the subependymal zone of the olfactory bulb, and the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, which are the three main germinal centers of the cerebrum in mouse postbirth neurogenesis. Unexpectedly, in the cerebellum, the MVMi capsid antigen was confined exclusively to cells that have undergone mitosis and have migrated to the internal granular layer (IGL) and not to the proliferative external granular layer (EGL), which was stained with antiproliferative cell nuclear antigen antibody and is the main target in other parvovirus infections. This result implies temporal or differentiation coupling between MVMi cycle and neuroblast morphogenesis, since proliferative granules of the EGL should primarily be infected but must migrate in a virus carrier state into the IGL in order to express the capsid proteins. During migration, many cells undergo destruction, accounting for the marked hypocellularity specifically found in the IGL and the irregular alignment of Purkinje cell bodies, both consistent histopathological hallmarks of animals developing cerebellar symptoms. We conclude that MVMi impairs postmitotic neuronal migration occurring in the first postnatal week, when, through the natural respiratory route of infection, the virus titer peaks in the encephalon. The results illustrate the intimate connection between MVMi neuropathogenesis and mouse brain morphogenetic stage, underscoring the potential of parvoviruses as markers of host developmental programs.     

Sequential Expression of Nucleoproteins during Rat Spermiogenesis

Transition proteins and protamines are highly basic sperm-specific nuclear proteins that serve to compact the DNA during late spermiogenesis. To understand their sequential role in this function, transition protein 1 (TP1), transition protein 2 (TP2), and protamine 1 (P1) were assayed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in pools of microdissected, staged seminiferous tubule segments in the rat. The results were compared with immunocytochemical analyses of squash preparations from accurately identified stages of the epithelial cycle. TP2 was the first to appear as a faint band at stages IX–XI, followed by high levels at stages XII–XIV of the cycle. TP1 showed a low expression at stage XII of the cycle and peaked at stages XIII–I, whereas protamine 1 first appeared at stage I of the cycle and remained high throughout the rest of spermiogenesis. Immunocytochemical analyses and Western blots largely confirmed these results: TP2 in steps 9–14, TP1 in steps 12–15, and P1 from late step 11 to step 19 of spermiogenesis. We propose that TP2 is the first nucleoprotein that replaces histones from the spermatid nucleus, and its appearance is associated with the onset of nuclear elongation. TP1 shows up along with the compaction of the chromatin. The two transition proteins seem to have distinct roles during transformation of the nuclei and compaction of spermatid DNA.