Assignment of the Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy type 1 (CMT 1a) gene to 17p11.2-p12.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1a (CMT 1a) is an autosomal dominant peripheral neuropathy linked to the DNA markers D17S58 and D17S71, located in the pericentromeric region of the chromosome 17p arm. We analyzed an extended 5-generation Belgian family, multiply affected with CMT 1a, for linkage with eight chromosome 17 markers. The results indicated that the CMT 1a mutation is localized in the chromosomal region 17p11.2-p12 between the marker D17S71 and the gene for myosin heavy polypeptide 2 of adult skeletal muscle.     

Effect of external ATP on the plasma membrane permeability and (Na++K+)-ATPase activity of mouse neuroblastoma cells

1. Addition of 3.5 mM ATP to mouse neuroblastoma Neuro-2A cells results in a selective enhancement of the plasma membrane permeability for Na⁺ relative to K⁺, as measured by cation flux measurements and electro-physiological techniques. 2. Addition of 3.5 mM ATP to Neuro-2A cells results in a 70% stimulation of the rate of active K⁺ -uptake by these cells, partly because of the enhanced plasma membrane permeability for Na⁺. Under these conditions the pumping activity of the Neuro-2A (Na⁺+K⁺)-ATPase is optimally stimulated with respect to its various substrate ions. 3. External ATP significantly enhances the affinity of the Neuro-2A (Na⁺+K⁺)-ATPase for ouabain, as measured by direct [³H]ouabain-binding studies and by inhibition studies of active K⁺ uptake. In the presence of 3.5 mM ATP and the absence of external K⁺ both techniques indicate an apparent dissociation constant for ouabain of 2·10^?6 M. Neuro-2A cells contain (3.5±0.7)·10⁵ ouabain-binding sites per cell, giving rise to an optimal pumping activity of (1.7±0.4)·10^?20 mol K⁺/min per copy of (Na⁺+K⁺)-ATPase at room temperature.     

Biochemical and morphological modifications in rabbit Achilles tendon during maturation and ageing.

1. The plasma clearance of intravenously injected 125I-labelled mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase (half-life 7 min) was not influenced by previous injection of suramin and/or leupeptin (inhibitors of intralysosomal proteolysis). 2. Pretreatment with both inhibitors considerably delayed degradation of endocytosed enzyme in liver, spleen, bone marrow and kidneys. 3. The tissue distribution of radioactivity was determined at 30 min after injection, when only 3% of the dose was left in plasma. All injected radioactivity was still present in the carcass. The major part of the injected dose was found in liver (49%), spleen (5%), kidneys (13%) and bone, including marrow (11%). 4. Liver cells were isolated 15 min after injection of labelled enzyme. We found that Kupffer cells and parenchymal cells had endocytosed the enzyme at rates corresponding to 9530 and 156 ml of plasma/day per g of cell protein respectively. Endothelial cells do not significantly contribute to uptake of the enzyme. 5. Uptake by Kupffer cells was saturable, whereas uptake by parenchymal cells was not. This suggests that these cell types endocytose the enzyme via different receptors. 6. Previous injection of carbon particles greatly decreased uptake of the enzyme by liver, spleen and bone marrow.     

Endocytosis of lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme M4 in rats in vivo. Experiments with enzyme labelled with O-(4-diazo-3,5-di[125I]iodobenzoyl)sucrose.

1. Pig lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme M4 was labelled with O-(4-diazo-3,5-di[125I]iodobenzoyl)sucrose and injected intravenously into rats. Previous work has shown that this label does not influence the clearance of the enzyme (half-life about 26 min) and that it is retained within the lysosomes for several hours after endocytosis and breakdown of the protein [De Jong, Bouma & Gruber (1981) Biochem. J. 198, 45--51]. 2. The distribution of the radioactivity over a large number of tissues was determined 2 h after injection. A high percentage of the injected dose was found in liver (41%), spleen (10%) and bone including marrow (21%). 3. Autoradiography indicated uptake of the enzyme mainly by Kupffer cells of the liver, by spleen macrophages and by bone marrow macrophages. 4. Liver cells were isolated 1 h after injection of the enzyme. Kupffer cells, endothelial cells and parenchymal cells were found to endocytose the enzyme at rates corresponding to 4230, 35 and 25 ml of plasma/day per g of cell protein, respectively. 5. Previous injection of carbon particles greatly reduced the uptake of the enzyme by liver and spleen, but the uptake by bone marrow was not significantly changed.     

The sequence of the 5.8 S ribosomal RNA of the crustacean Artemia salina. With a proposal for a general secondary structure model for 5.8 S ribosomal RNA.

We report the primary structure of 5.8 S rRNA from the crustacean Artemia salina. The preparation shows length heterogeneity at the 5'-terminus, but consists of uninterrupted RNA chains, in contrast to some insect 5.8 S rRNAs, which consist of two chains of unequal length separated in the gene by a short spacer. The sequence was aligned with those of 11 other 5.8 S rRNAs and a general secondary structure model derived. It has four helical regions in common with the model of Nazar et al. (J. Biol. Chem. 250, 8591-8597 (1975)), but for a fifth helix a different base pairing scheme was found preferable, and the terminal sequences are presumed to bind to 28 S rRNA instead of binding to each other. In the case of yeast, where both the 5.8 S and 26 S rRNA sequences are known, the existence of five helices in 5.8 S rRNA is shown to be compatible with a 5.8 S - 26 S rRNA interaction model.     

An analysis of cosmid clones of nuclear DNA from Trypanosoma brucei shows that the genes for variant surface glycoproteins are clustered in the genome

Trypanosoma brucei contains more than a hundred genes coding for the different variant surface glycoproteins (VSGs). Activation of some of these genes involves the duplication of the gene (the basic copy or BC) and transposition of the duplicate to an expression site (yielding the expression-linked copy or ELC). We have cloned large fragments of genomic DNA in cosmid vectors in Escherichia coli. Cosmids containing the BCs of genes 117, 118 and 121 were readily obtained, but DNA containing the ELCs was strongly selected against in the cosmid and plasmid cloning systems used. We have analysed the distribution of VSG genes in the genome using probes for the sequences at the edges of the transposed segment which are partially homologous among these genes. In genomic cosmid clone banks, about 9% of all colonies hybridize with probes from the 5'- and 3'-edges of the transposed segment, showing that these sequences are linked in the genome. Moreover, the 117 and 118 BC cosmids contain several additional putative VSG genes in tandem, as deduced from hybridization and sequence analyses. We conclude that the VSG genes are highly clustered and share common sequences at the borders of the transposed segment.     

Broad-host-range cloning vectors derived from the W-plasmid Sa

Four nonconjugative broad-host-range cloning vectors were derived from the W-plasmid Sa. They are small (M_r 5.6?7.2 × 10⁶), carry several drug-resistance markers, and allow constructing and screening for recombinant plasmids generated by the restriction enzymes EcoRI, PstI, BglII, HindIII, BamHI and SalI,     

The nitrogen requirements ofGluconobacter,Acetobacter andFrateuria

The nitrogen requirements of 96Gluconobacter, 55Acetobacter and 7Frateuria strains were examined. Only someFrateuria strains were able to grow on 0.5% yeast extract broth or 0.5% peptone broth. In the presence ofd-glucose ord-mannitol as a carbon source, ammonium was used as the sole source of nitrogen by all three genera. With ethanol, only a fewAcetobacter strains grew on ammonium as a sole nitrogen source. Singlel-amino acids cannot serve as a sole source of carbon and nitrogen for growth ofGluconobacter, Acetobacter orFrateuria. The singlel-amino acids which were used by most strains as a sole nitrogen source for growth are: asparagine, aspartic acid, glutamine, glutamic acid, proline and alanine. SomeAcetobacter andGluconobacter strains deaminated alanine, asparagine, glutamic acid, threonine, serine and proline. NoFrateuria strain was able to develop on cysteine, glycine, threonine or tryptophan as a sole source of nitrogen for growth. An inhibitory effect of valine may explain the absence of growth on this amino acid. No amino acid is “essential” forGluconobacter, Acetobacter orFrateuria.     

Calcitroic acid: biological activity and tissue distribution studies

Calcitroic acid was recently identified as a major metabolite of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃ (Esvelt, Schnoes, and DeLuca, Biochemistry 18, 3977, 1979). The metabolite was found to have little, although significant, activity in healing rickets, and causing bone mineral mobilization but elicited no significant elevation in intestinal calcium transport. The compound showed little affinity for either the serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D binding protein or the intestinal cytosol receptor for 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃. Various tissues of the rat were examined for the presence of calcitroic acid following a 120-ng dose of 1,25-dihydroxy-[3α-³H]vitamin D₃. The metabolite was detected in liver, intestinal mucosa, kidneys, and blood with livers and mucosa containing the highest concentrations. In each of these tissues the calcitroic acid content increased during the period between 4 and 12 h after the dose. The presence of calcitroic acid in femurs was indicated but could not be confirmed. Bile duct cannulation reduced but did not abolish the intestinal calcitroic acid content. In addition to calcitroic acid, other polar metabolites of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃ were detected in these experiments.