Photoaffinity labeling of the monoamine transporter of bovine chromaffin granules and other monoamine storage vesicles using 7-azido-8-[125I]iodoketanserin

An iodinated azido derivative of ketanserin, 7-azido-8-[125I]iodoketanserin ( [125I]AZIK), has been used to label the monoamine transporter of bovine chromaffin granule membranes by the technique of photoaffinity labeling. In the dark, this derivative was found to bind reversibly to the membranes, with an equilibrium dissociation constant estimated to be 6 nM at 0 degrees C. As for ketanserin, binding occurred at the tetrabenazine site: (i) [125I]AZIK was displaced efficiently from its binding site by tetrabenazine, ketanserin, and 7-azidoketanserin, whereas serotonin, which is a substrate for the transporter but has a low affinity for tetrabenazine binding site, was a poor displacer; pipamperone and pyrilamine, two antagonists of respectively serotonin S2 and histamine H1 receptors, were inactive. (ii) 7-Azidoketanserin was a competitive inhibitor of [3H]dihydrotetrabenazine binding, and it inhibited the ATP-dependent uptake of serotonin by chromaffin granule ghosts. Irradiation of [125I]AZIK with long-wavelength UV light, followed by electrophoresis on sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gels and autoradiography, revealed irreversible labeling of a membrane component with an apparent molecular weight of 73,000. Tetrabenazine inhibited the labeling of this 73-kDa band in a manner parallel to the binding of [125I]AZIK in the dark. Such a labeling is totally compatible with previous results obtained through photolabeling with a tetrabenazine derivative or by target size analysis. Moreover, preliminary experiments showed that [125I]AZIK can label the tetrabenazine binding sites of various sources including rat striatum, rabbit platelets, human pheochromocytoma, and human adrenal medulla. Therefore, this molecule appears to be an excellent probe to label the monoamine transporter of different amine storage vesicles even without purification.     

Reserpine binding to chromaffin granules suggests the existence of two conformations of the monoamine transporter

The binding of [3H]reserpine ([3H]RES) to purified bovine chromaffin granule membranes has been studied at low membrane concentration. Saturation isotherms indicated a dissociation equilibrium constant KD of 30 pM and a density of binding sites of 8 pmol/mg of protein at 30 degrees C. The association rate constant was 4.0 X 10(5) M-1 s-1, and the calculated dissociation rate constant was 1.2 X 10(-5) s-1, corresponding to a half-lifetime of about 16 h. Although this dissociation was too low to be measured directly, [3H]RES binding was indeed reversible since it was lost after addition of the detergent Triton X-100. Dihydrotetrabenazine (TBZOH) inhibited [3H]RES binding in a time-dependent manner, EC50 varying from 37 nM after a 1-h incubation to 600 nM after 16 h. On the contrary, [3H]RES binding inhibition by the substrate noradrenaline was time independent. It is proposed that the transporter exists in two different conformations which bind exclusively either tetrabenazine (TBZ) or RES and which are in equilibrium. The effects of detergents were consistent with this two-conformation model. The transporter solubilized by cholate bound [3H]TBZOH, but not [3H]RES. On the other hand, addition of cholate to membrane-bound [3H]RES solubilized the membrane without releasing the ligand from its binding site. It is proposed that the TBZ-binding conformation is obtained by solubilization with cholate and that RES stabilizes the RES-binding conformation, allowing its solubilization by this detergent.     

Ontogeny of hormone-secreting cells of the rat pituitary gland: An immunocytochemical study on dissociated cells

Summary An immunocytochemical study was undertaken in foetal, prepubertal and mature rats to determine the time of differentiation of various types of adenohypophyseal cells during development. Freshly dissociated pituitary cells from foetal (18–21 days postconception), neonatal (from birth up to 30 days) and adult rats (more than 8 weeks) were characterized using immunocytochemical methods. All types of hormone-producing cells were present at day 18 postconception, although only 20% of the cells were immunolabelled. Adrenocorticotropin (ACTH)-secreting cells accounted for the highest number of hormone-positive cells. Growth hormone-secreting cells increased remarkably from day 18 postconception onwards. Prolactin-secreting cells were not seen in the foetal adenohypophysis and did not start to increase until 10 days after birth, whereas by that time the number of ACTH, thyrotropin, follicle-stimulating and luteinizing hormone-secreting cells had stopped increasing. By day 30 after birth, 80–95% of the cells were immunoreactive.     

Phosphorylation influences the binding of the yeast RAP1 protein to the upstream activating sequence of the PGK gene.

Yeast repressor activator protein 1 (RAP1) binds in vitro to specific DNA sequences that are found in diverse genetic elements. Expression of the yeast phosphoglycerate kinase gene (PGK) requires the binding of RAP1 to the activator core sequence within the upstream activating sequence (UAS) of PGK. A DNA fragment Z+ which contains the activator core sequence of the PGK(UAS) has been shown to bind RAP1. Here we report that phosphatase treatment of RAP1 affected its binding to the PGK(UAS) but that this depended on the nature of the sequence flanking the 5' end of the activator core sequence. When the sequence flanking the 5' end of the activator core sequence was different from the PGK RAP1-binding site, phosphatase treatment of RAP1 decreased its binding to the DNA. When the 5' end of the binding site was a match to the PGK RAP1-binding site dephosphorylation of RAP1 increased RAP1 binding to the DNA. These observations were reproduced when the minimal functional DNA-binding domain of the RAP1 protein was used, implicating a phosphorylation-dependent binding of RAP1. This is the first evidence for phosphorylation-dependent binding of RAP1.     

δ and κ Opiate receptors in primary astroglial cultures from rat cerebral cortex

The effects of , , and receptor-agonists on forskolin stimulated cyclic adenosine-3, 5-monophosphate (cAMP) formation were examined in astroglial enriched primary cultures from the cerebral cortex of newborn rats. Intracellular cAMP accumulation was quantified by radioimmunoassay. Morphine was used as a -receptor agonist, D-Ala-D-Leu-Enkephalin (DADLE) as a -receptor agonist and dynorphine 1–13 (Dyn) as a -receptor agonist. Basal cAMP levels were unaffected by either the opiate agonists or the antagonists used. In the presence of the cAMP stimulator forskolin, morphine had no significant effect on the cytoplasmic cAMP levels. DADLE caused a dose related inhibition of the forskolin stimulated cAMP accumulation. The effects of this receptor stimulation was blocked with the selective antagonist ICI 174.864. In the presence of Dyn, the forskolin stimulated cAMP accumulation was inhibited in a dose related manner. This receptor stimulation was blocked with the selective antagonist MR 2266. Co-administration of DADLE and Dyn resulted in a non additive inhibition of the forskolin stimulated accumulation of cAMP. These findings indicate that astroglial enriched cultures from the cerebral cortex of rats express and -receptors co-localized ont he same population of cells, and that these receptors are inhibitory coupled to adenylate cyclase.     

Absorption, translocation, and metabolism of14C-clomazone in soybean (Glycine max) and threeAmaranthus weed species

The patterns of clomazone (2-[(2-chlorophenyl) methyl-4,4-dimethyl-3-isoxazolidinone) absorption, translocation, and metabolism and their contribution to the plant selectivity of this herbicide were studied in tolerant soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] andAmaranthus hybridus and in susceptibleA. retroflexus andA. lividus. Differential root absorption appeared to play a significant role in the differential response of these four plant species to clomazone. Absorption of root-applied¹⁴C-clomazone was greater by the two sensitiveAmaranthus weeds than by the tolerant soybean andA. hybri-dus. Following application of¹⁴C-clomazone to roots, most of the absorbed radioactivity was translocated to the leaves of all four species. Approximately 50% of the absorbed¹⁴C-clomazone was metabolized by all four plant species as early as 12 h after treatment. Thin layer Chromatographic (TLC) analysis of plant tissue extracts from all four species revealed the formation of two major metabolites of clomazone. These unidentified metabolites had Rf values of 0.4 and 0.8, respectively, in a butanolacetic acidwater (1235, vol/vol/vol) developing system. The Rf value of unaltered clomazone in this system was 0.95. Differential metabolism or differential rate of metabolism of clomazone was not observed in this study and did not seem to account for the tolerance of soybean andA. hybridus or the suceptibility ofA. retroflexus andA. lividus to this herbicide.Plant Pathology, Physiology, and Weed Science Department, Contribution No. 600.     

Plant regeneration by organogenesis in Vitis rootstock species

A procedure for the regeneration of Vitis rootstocks plantlets by organogenesis from foliar tissues is described. Leaves from mature plants grown in growth chambers or from plantlets grown in tubes were wounded with a scalpel and cultured on a modified Murashige and Skoog liquid medium containing different concentrations of benzyl-aminopurine. The presence of benzyl-aminopurine is required for shoot formation. The age of the source explant, the composition of the culture medium and the culture temperature are important parameters of the regeneration process.Abbreviations BA 6-benzyl-aminopurine - MS Murashige and Skoog medium - MM modified Murashige and Skoog medium     

Primary Infection of Barley by Erysiphe graminis f. sp. hordei in Relation to Leaf-Age Dependent Resistance and the Roles of the Epidermis and Mesophyll in this Resistance

Abstract The infection frequency of both compatible and incompatible races of Erysiphe graminis f. sp. hordei decreased gradually with increasing leaf age on undetached primary barley leaves. The length of secondary hyphae of the compatible race was approximately the same regardless of age, but secondary hyphae were slightly longer on younger seedlings than on older seedlings in the case of the incompatible race. Both the infection frequency and length of secondary hyphae of the two races weredistinctly different. On composite sections produced by exchanging the epidermal layers of young and relatively mature primary leaves, the infection frequency of the compatible race was higher on the epidermis of young leaves than on the epidermis of older, leaves, regardless of which mesophyll was under the epidermis. The epidermis appears to play a major role in age-dependent resistance, while the mesophyll may act disparately by providing a factor promotive to mildew infection in addition to supporting the resistance function of the epidermis.