Effect of poly(ADP-ribose) formation on DNA synthesis in chick-embryo-liver nuclei. Possible mechanism of template activation.

The complete amino acid sequence of bovine phospholipase A2 (EC 3.1.1.4) was determined. This enzyme has a molecular weight of 13 782 and consists of a single polypeptide chain of 123 amino acids cross-linked by seven disulfide bridges. The main fragmentation of the polypeptide chain was accomplished by digesting the reduced and thialaminated derivative of the protein with trypsin, staphylococcal protease and cyanogen bromide. A number of chymotryptic peptides were used for alignment and to obtain overlaps of at least two residues. The sequence of the peptides was determined by Edman degradation by means of direct phenylthiohydantoin identification in combination with identification as dansyl amino acids. Although 71% of all residues of phospholipase A2 from bovine, porcine and equine sources are conserved, bovine phospholipase A2 differs from the others by the total number of residues and by substitutions at 20 (porcine) and 33 (equine) positions.     

COLONY-FORMING ABILITY OF BONE MARROW CELLS OF W ANAEMIC MICE ON MACROPHAGE LAYER FORMED IN PERITONEAL CAVITY OF MICE

The colony-forming ability of haematopoietic cells of W anaemic mice was examined on the macrophage layer formed in the peritoneal cavity of mice. Bone marrow cells of W anaemic mice formed a considerable number of colonies on the macrophage layer, notwithstanding they did not form any colonies in the spleen of the same recipients. As the colony-forming ability of the bone marrow cells was not reduced by the incubation with ³H-thymidine, most of the cells which formed colonies on the macrophage layer seemed to stay in G₀ state. The interrelationship between the spleen colony-forming cells, the macrophage-layer colony-forming cells, and in vitro colony-forming cells was discussed.     

Cooperative conformational change and aggregation of concanavalin A in alkaline solutions

Three properties, the binding activity to Sephadex G-75, conformation, and the extent of aggregation, of concanvalin A. (con A) in alkaline pH solutions were examined with special attention to the time course and their time-independent final values. Highly cooperative conformational changes among four subunits were suggested which were coupled either with protonation in the case of demetallized con A or with metal binding in the case of metal-liganded con A. Midpoints of the conversions of the metal-liganded con A were about pH 8.8, 9.1 and 9.1 with respect to the activity, the conformational change and the aggregation, respectively. These values were about 1 pH higher than the corresponding values of demetallized con A: 7.9, 8.05 and 8.2. Each conversion took place in narrow pH ranges. The pH range for the loss of activity was found to be significantly lower than those of the other two. The aggregation was suggested not to be coupled with the conformational change. Dissociation into subunits did not take place indicating strong interactions among four subunits in the tetramer.     

cis-Elements involved in expression of unspliced RNA in Moloney murine leukemia virus.

Murine leukemia virus (MLV) produces the unspliced RNA and the singly spliced RNA at a proper ratio at a time. To identify cis-elements involved in the production of the unspliced RNA, we examined the level of unspliced RNA in a series of mutants derived from a prototype Moloney MLV mutant gag-encoding G3.6. Our present data indicated that nt 1560-1906 region in the CA-encoding region in gag was the negative cis-element and nt 5119-5355 region, which was immediately upstream of the splice acceptor site, was the positive cis-element for expression of the unspliced RNA. It was found that the former element made expression of the unspliced RNA dependent upon the latter. These two elements were functional as discrete elements and their activities were relatively position-independent.     

Characterization of the bacterial population structure in an anaerobic-aerobic activated sludge system on the basis of respiratory quinone profiles.

Bacterial respiratory quinones were used as biomarkers for studying the bacterial population structure, especially the content of Acinetobacter species, in a laboratory-scale anaerobic-aerobic activated sludge system and in the standard aerobic system. All tested sludges contained both ubiquinone and menaquinone, with a molar ratio of about 1:0.5. High-performance liquid chromatography showed that ubiquinone with eight isoprene units (Q-8) was present as the predominant ubiquinone, Q-10 was the second most common type, and Q-9 and other homologs were minor components in the anaerobic-aerobic sludge and the standard aerobic sludge. Bacteriological examination indicated that, in both sludge systems, Q-8-containing bacteria constituted a large proportion of the aerobic heterotrophic bacterial flora, but only a few strains with Q-9 were found. These findings demonstrate that the population of Acinetobacter species, which contain Q-9 as the major quinone, is negligible in those environments. The present results suggest that the introduction of anaerobic conditions into the aerobic batch process has little influence on the bacterial community structure.     

Induction of histidine decarboxylase in non-mast cells in the spleen of mice by injection of staphylococcal enterotoxin A

Injection of Staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) into WBB6F1-W/WV mice genetically deficient in mast cells resulted in a 10-fold increase in the histidine decarboxylase [HDC, L-histidine carboxylase, EC 4.1.1.22] activity of their spleen. The nature of the spleen cells responsible for this increased HDC activity was studied. The HDC induction by SEA was abolished on day 1 after X-ray irradiation of the mice at 400 rad and restored by transplantation of bone marrow cells from normal WBB6F1-+/+ littermates into the X-ray irradiated WBB6F1-W/WV mice. Transplantation of cells from other organs of the normal mice, such as the thymus, mesenteric lymph node and spleen, did not restore the HDC increase significantly. Transplantation of cultured mast cells also did not restore the increase. Moreover, the high HDC activity of spleen cells induced by SEA was not affected by their treatment with anti-Thy-1,2 antibody and complement. Depletion of phagocytes from the spleen by treatment with carbonyl iron resulted in decrease in HDC activity. These results suggested that phagocytic cells derived from haemopoietic stem cells of the bone marrow were responsible for the increase in HDC activity induced by SEA.     

In vivo and in vitro characterization of Ser477X mutations in polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) synthase 1 from Pseudomonas sp. 61-3: effects of beneficial mutations on enzymatic activity, substrate specificity, and molecular weight of PHA

Evolutionary engineered polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) synthases from Pseudomonas sp. 61-3 enhance PHA accumulation and enable the monomer composition of PHAs to be regulated. We characterized a newly screened Ser477Arg (S477R) mutant of PHA synthase by in vivo analyses of P(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)] homopolymer and P(3HB-co-3-hydroxyalkanoate) [P(3HB-co-3HA)] copolymer productions in the recombinants of Escherichia coli. The results indicated that the S477R mutation contributed to a shift in substrate specificity to smaller monomers containing a 3HB unit rather than to an enhancement in catalytic activity. Multiple mutations of S477R with other beneficial mutations, for example, Ser325Cys, exhibited synergistic effects on both an increase in PHA production (from 9 wt % to 21 wt %) and an alteration of substrate specificity. Furthermore, the effects of complete amino acid substitutions at position 477 were characterized in terms of in vivo PHA production and in vitro enzymatic activity. The five mutations, S477Ala(A)/Phe(F)/His(H)/Arg(R)/Tyr(Y), resulted in a shift in substrate specificity to smaller monomer units. The S477Gly(G) mutant greatly enhanced activity toward all different sizes of substrates with carbon numbers ranging from 4 to 12. These results indicated that the residue 477 contributes to both the catalytic activity and substrate specificity of PHA synthase. In recombinant E. coli, the S477A/F/G/H/R/Y mutations consistently led to increases (up to 6 times that of wild-type enzyme) in weight average molecular weights of P(3HB) homopolymers. On the basis of our studies, we created a structural feasibility accounting for the mutational effects on enzymatic activity and substrate specificity of PHA synthase.     

TMPRSS13, a type II transmembrane serine protease, is inhibited by hepatocyte growth factor activator inhibitor type 1 and activates pro-hepatocyte growth factor

Type II transmembrane serine proteases (TTSPs) are structurally defined by the presence of a transmembrane domain located near the N-terminus and a C-terminal extracellular serine protease domain. The human TTSP family consists of 17 members. Some members of the family have pivotal functions in development and homeostasis, and are involved in tumorigenesis and viral infections. The activities of TTSPs are regulated by endogenous protease inhibitors. However, protease inhibitors of most TTSPs have not yet been identified. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of hepatocyte growth factor activator inhibitor type 1 (HAI-1), a Kunitz-type serine protease inhibitor, on several members of the TTSP family. We found that the protease activity of a member, TMPRSS13, was inhibited by HAI-1. A detailed analysis revealed that a soluble form of HAI-1 with one Kunitz domain (NK1) more strongly inhibited TMPRSS13 than another soluble form of HAI-1 with two Kunitz domains (NK1LK2). In addition, an in vitro protein binding assay showed that NK1 formed complexes with TMPRSS13, but NK1LK2 did not. TMPRSS13 converted single-chain pro-hepatocyte growth factor (pro-HGF) to a two-chain form in vitro, and the pro-HGF converting activity of TMPRSS13 was inhibited by NK1. The two-chain form of HGF exhibited biological activity, assessed by phosphorylation of the HGF receptor (c-Met) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase, and scattered morphology in human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line HepG2. These results suggest that TMPRSS13 functions as an HGF-converting protease, the activity of which may be regulated by HAI-1.     

Clonal identification by microsatellite loci in sporadic flowering of a dwarf bamboo species, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sasa cernua</Emphasis>

Dwarf bamboo species are monocarpic. They flower simultaneously and die after several decades. The type of flowering in the genus Sasa ranges from sporadic to gregarious. In order to determine whether or not the sporadic flowering of dwarf bamboo is fixed genetically, we investigated the distribution of clones using eight microsatellite (SSR) loci in a sporadic flowering patch of Sasa cernua Makino, a major dwarf bamboo species found in central Hokkaido. In May 2006, flowering occurred on 60.5% of living culms in a 1600 m² patch. We established a 50 × 10 m study plot in this patch and noted 1267 clumps consisting of 2529 living culms. We investigated all 1267 clumps and identified six multilocus genotypes as clones using five variable SSR loci. All flowering clumps belonged to the same clone. On the other hand, non-flowering vegetative clumps were also discovered to be of the same clone. These data suggest that all flowering culms originated from a single clone of a sporadic flowering patch of S. cernua. Clonal analysis for investigation of sporadic flowering of S. cernua revealed that only a portion of a clone flowers and dies instead of the whole clone.