Evidence that glutathione participates in the induction of a stress protein

A step in the induction of a 30- to 35-kD stress protein may be the reaction of chemical inducers with glutathione. Effective inducers are sulfhydryl reagents. Further, a comparison of three reagents, 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene, diethylmaleate, and N-ethylmaleimide, indicates that the first two, which have considerable selectivity for glutathione, are strong inducers of the stress protein but the third, which is much more reactive with protein sulfhydryls, is either a poor or ineffective inducer. A decrease in cellular glutathione does not appear to be inductive, however. An increase in modified glutathione remains as a possible signal for the induction of this stress protein.     

Nuclear envelope proteins: Identification of lamin B subtypes

The lamins are a group of nuclear envelope proteins thought to form a structural layer at the nuclear periphery. Lamins A, B and C occur in many cell types although lamin C, a subtype of lamin A, is relatively decreased in chicken cells. A subtype of lamin B has been found in chicken cells. This subtype, called lamin B1, is slightly larger and more acidic than the quantitatively major subtype now called lamin B2. The lamin B subtypes have very similar primary sequences and share a distinctive topology. Two lamin B subtypes have not been observed in mammalian tissues but have been found in three avian tissues, erythrocytes of mature chickens and liver and erythrocytes of 11- to 13-day-old embryos. As these tissues differ widely in metabolic activity, both subtypes appear to be constitutive nuclear proteins.     

Diastereoisomers of 2-benzyl-2, 3-dihydro-2-(1H-inden-2-yl)-1H-inden-1-ol: Potential anti-inflammatory agents

The synthesis and biological activity of the novel diastereoisomers of 2-benzyl-2,3-dihydro-2-(1H-inden-2-yl)-1H-inden-1-ol is reported. The 2,2-coupled indane dimers were synthesised by coupling of the silyl enol ether of 1-indanone with the dimethyl ketal of 2-indanone. The coupled product was directly alkylated to give the racemic ketone which was reduced to the diastereoisomeric alcohols. The alcohols were separated and their relative stereochemistry was established by X-ray crystallography. These molecules demonstrate significant anti-inflammatory activity in vivo and in vitro and may represent a new class of anti-inflammatory agent.     

Über das Pigment von Anthurus aseroëformis Mac Alpine

Zusammenfassung Von einem Exemplar der in der Nähe, von Heidelberg vereinzelt auftretenden tropischen ClathraceeAnthurus aseroëformis wurde eine Pigmentanalyse durchgeführt. Auf spektroskopischem, spektrographischem und chromatographischem Wege konnte der Nachweis erbracht werden, daß in diesem Basidiomyceten Lycopin als Hauptpigment vorkommt.Mit 3 Textabbildungen.     

Tissue plasminogen activator and neuropathy open the blood-nerve barrier with upregulation of microRNA-155-5p in male rats

The blood-nerve barrier (BNB) consisting of the perineurium and endoneurial vessels is sealed by tight junction proteins. BNB alterations are a crucial factor in the pathogenesis of peripheral neuropathies. However, barrier opening, e.g. by tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), can also facilitate topical application of analgesics. Here, we examined tPA both in the pathophysiology of neuropathy-induced BNB opening or via exogenous application and its effect on the cytoplasmatic tight junction protein anchoring protein, zona occludens-1 (ZO-1), the adherens molecule JAM-C and microRNA(miR)-155-5p. Specifically, we investigated whether tPA alone and barrier opening lead to pain behavioral changes, i.e. hyperalgesia, or whether these effects require further factors.Male Wistar rats underwent chronic constriction injury (CCI) or were treated by a single perisciatic application of recombinant (r)tPA. CCI elicited mechanical allodynia, tPA mRNA upregulation, macrophage invasion, BNB leakage for large molecule tracers, downregulation of ZO-1 and JAM-C mRNA/protein, and a loss of immunoreactivity of both in perineurium and endoneurial cells. Similarly, after perisciatic rtPA injection, ZO-1 and JAM-C mRNA as well as cytosolic/membrane protein and ZO-1 immunoreactivity were downregulated, and the BNB was opened. Neither mechanical hypersensitivity nor macrophage infiltration was observed after rtPA in contrast to CCI. Mechanistically, miR-155-5p, which is known to destabilize barriers and tight junction proteins like claudin-1 and ZO-1, was increased in CCI and to lesser extent after rtPA application. In summary, tPA transiently opens the BNB possibly via miR-155-5p. However, tPA does not provoke allodynia in the absence of a neuropathic stimulus like a ligation or inflammation.     

Revised transmembrane orientation of the NADH:quinone oxidoreductase subunit NuoA

NuoA is a small membrane spanning subunit of respiratory chain NADH:quinone oxidoreductase (complex I). Unlike the other complex I core protein subunits, the NuoA protein has no known homologue in other enzyme systems. The transmembrane orientation of NuoA cannot be unambiguously predicted, due to the small size of the polypeptide and the varying distribution of charged amino acid residues in NuoA from different organisms. Novel analyses of NuoA from Escherichia coli complex I expressed as fusion proteins to cytochrome c and to alkaline phosphatase demonstrated that the c-terminal end of the polypeptide is localized in the bacterial cytoplasm, in contrast to what was previously reported for the homologous NQO7 subunit from Paracoccus denitrificans complex I.     

Novel application of Phi29 DNA polymerase: RNA detection and analysis in vitro and in situ by target RNA-primed RCA

We present a novel Phi29 DNA polymerase application in RCA-based target RNA detection and analysis. The 3′→5′ RNase activity of Phi29 DNA polymerase converts target RNA into a primer and the polymerase uses this newly generated primer for RCA initiation. Therefore, using target RNA-primed RCA, padlock probes may be targeted to inner RNA sequences and their peculiarities can be analyzed directly. We demonstrate that the exoribonucleolytic activity of Phi29 DNA polymerase can be successfully applied in vitro and in situ. These findings expand the potential for detection and analysis of RNA sequences distanced from 3′-end.