Loss of haem from cytochrome P-450 caused by lipid peroxidation and 2-allyl-2-isoprophylacetamide. An abnormal pathway not involving production of carbon monoxide.

1. Microsomal preparations undergoing lipid peroxidation produce CO and lose haem from cytochrome P-450. 2. The amount of CO produced does not correlate with the amount of haem lost and, after pre-labelling of microsomal haem in its bridges with 5-amino[5-14C]laevulinate, the radioactivity lost from haem is not recorved as CO. 3. Similarly, when pre-labelled microsomal haem is destroyed by the action of 2-allyl-2-isopropylacetamide, no radioactivity is recovered as CO. In clear contrast, on degradation of haem by the haem oxygenase system, CO is produced in an amount equimolar to the haem lost. 4. It is concluded that (a) the CO produced during lipid peroxidation originates from a source different from haem and (b) the degradations of haem caused by lipid peroxidation and 2-allyl-2-isopropylacetamide do not involve to any significant extent evolution of the methene-bridge carbon of haem as CO.     

Effect of chlorambucil and indomethacin on growth and prostaglandin levels in sensitive and resistant walker carcinoma

An analysis of the effect of combinations of chlorambucil and indomethacin, or chlorambucil and prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) on the growth of alkylating agent sensitive and resistant Walker carcinoma in vitro has been made by the isobologram approach. Indomethacin alone acts as a growth inhibitor of the Walker carcinoma. High concentrations of indomethacin (5 μg/ml) act to inhibit the growth of the resistant line sub-additively with chlorambucil, whereas low concentrations act additively. For the sensitive line indomethacin acts either additively or supra-additively with chlorambucil at all concentrations employed. Both indomethacin and low concentrations of chlorambucil alone inhibit PGE₂ secretion into the culture medium of both cell lines and an enhanced inhibition is seen with the combination. PGE₂ itself acts as a growth inhibitor of both cell lines, although it causes greater growth inhibition of chlorambucil resistant Walker carcinoma (LD₅₀ 1.8 μg/ml) than of the sensitive line. This correlates with a greater PGE₂ secretion capacity by the resistant cell line (40 pg PGE₂/ml medium/10⁵ cells for the resistant tumour and 17 pg PGE₂/ml medium/10⁵ cells for the sensitive tumour). Combinations of PGE₂ with chlorambucil inhibit growth either additively or sub-additively. It seems unlikely that inhibition of PGE₂ secretion is responsible for the interactive effects of chlorambucil and indomethacin, since growth inhibition produced by the combination is not reversed by PGE₂ at any of the concentrations employed. Possible mechanisms of the interactive effects are discussed.     

Reconstitution of interactions between the Src tyrosine kinases and Ras GTPase-activating protein using a baculovirus expression system.

Ras GTPase-activating protein (GAP) has been implicated in mitogenic signal transduction downstream of oncogenic and receptor tyrosine kinases. Previous studies have suggested that GAP is phosphorylated by oncogenic viral Src (v-Src) and that GAP is associated with a complex containing normal cellular Src (c-Src) in vertebrate fibroblasts. To investigate molecular interactions between the Src kinases and GAP, we developed an in vitro system for reconstituting Src-GAP complexes. For this purpose, we constructed recombinant baculovirus vectors that direct expression of Rous sarcoma virus v-Src, chicken c-Src, and bovine GAP in infected Sf9 insect cells. In vitro reconstitution experiments using baculovirus-expressed proteins demonstrate that both v-Src and c-Src associate in complexes with GAP. In addition, in vitro and in vivo phosphorylation analyses indicate that GAP serves as a substrate for both the v-Src and c-Src tyrosine kinases. To determine which structural features of GAP are involved in interactions with the Src kinases, we constructed recombinant baculoviruses that encode deletion mutants of bovine GAP. Deletion of the GAP amino-terminal portion containing Src homology 2 regions, which are highly conserved structural motifs postulated to mediate interactions among proteins, diminishes GAP phosphorylation and association with Src. This reconstitution system should facilitate further studies of molecular interactions between the Src kinases and GAP.     

Oxidation of reduced pyridine nucleotide by a system using ascorbate and hydrogen peroxide from plants and algae

A NAD(P)H oxidizing system (NAAP) was detected and partially purified from leaves of spinach and Sedum praealtum, seeds and leaves of pea and cells of green and red algae which oxidized NAD(P)H in the presence of ascorbate and H₂O₂.     

Characterization of a Photosynthesizing Reconstituted Spinach Chloroplast Preparation : REGULATION BY PRIMER, ADENYLATES, FERREDOXIN, AND PYRIDINE NUCLEOTIDES

A particulate preparation (MgP) capable of photosynthetic CO₂ assimilation without the addition of stromal protein was obtained by rupturing whole spinach (Spinacia oleracea var. America) chloroplasts in 15 millimolar MgCl₂ buffered with Tricine at pH 8.5. This CO₂ assimilation was dependent upon light, inorganic phosphate, ferredoxin, ADP, NAD or NADP, and primer. Excepting glycolate, the products of CO₂ fixation by MgP were similar to those found with whole chloroplasts.     

Formation of cobalt protoporphyrin in the liver of rats. A mechanism for the inhibition of liver haem biosynthesis by inorganic cobalt.

1. Treatment of rats with small doses of CoCl2 decreases liver 5-aminolaevulinate synthase (EC 2.3.1.37) activity and impairs incorporation of 5-amino[14C]laevulinate into liver haem. Salts of other metals (cadmium, nickel, manganese and zinc) are all relatively inactive. 2. The dose-response curves obtained for both these effects closely mirror the accumulation in the liver of a compound that is labelled by 5-amino[14C]laevulinate and is unextractable by acetone/HCl. 3. Incorporation of 5-amino[14C]laevulinate into unextractable compound is also obtained in vitro by incubating liver homogenates with label in the presence of cobalt:isotope-dilution experiments show that the radioactivity passes through pools of porphobilinogen and protoporphyrin, but not of haem. 4. The unextractable compound is not covalently bound to protein and possesses the same extraction and spectral properties as authentic cobalt protoporphyrin. 5. It is concluded (a) that cobalt protoporphyrin is readily formed not only in vitro, but also in vivo, and (b) that its formation accounts for the impaired incorporation of 5-aminolaevulinate into haem and may also be responsible for the action of cobalt on 5-aminolaevulinate synthase.     

The carriage of Candida albicans in the mouths of rats treated with tetracycline briefly or for a prolonged period

Rats given tetracycline in their drinking water for one week were orally inoculated with Candida albicans in the following week. Colonization of the mouth by the fungus resulted, whether the rats continued to receive tetracycline or not, over a period of 22 weeks. Histological changes indicative of oral candidosis were also found both in rats maintained on tetracycline throughout the experiment and in animals given the drug only initially. It is suggested that exposure to tetracycline as tested in this experiment causes a lasting reduction in the rat's ability to expel C. albicans, or an enhancement of the organism's colonizing propensities.     

Vitamin A in liposomes. Inhibition of complement binding and alteration of membrane structure.

Incorporation of vitamin A aldehyde (retinal) into liposomes had an inhibitory effect on the amount of human complement protein bound in the presence of specific antiserum. The total membrane-bound protein was directly measured on liposomes which were washed after incubation in antiserum and fresh human serum (complement). At every concentration of complement, decreased protein binding was found with liposomes which contained retinal. Binding of the third component of complement (C3) was also measured directly on washed liposomes and was found to be decreased in the presence of retinal. The diminution in protein binding due to retinal was not caused by differences in the amount of antibody bound and this was shown by two experiments. First, specific antibody protein binding to liposomes was directly measured and was essentially unaffected by retinal. Second, liposomes were prepared from lipid extracts of sheep erythrocytes. These liposomes were used as as immunoadsorbants to remove antisheep erythrocyte antibodies. The immunoadsorbant capacity was the same in both the presence and the absence of retinal. A further conclusion from these experiments was that retinal did not change the number of liposomal glycolipid antigen molecules available for antibody binding and thus presumably did not change the total number of lipid molecules present on the outer surface of the liposomes. Retinal did have an effect on the geometric structure of the liposomes. Size distribution measurements were performed in the diameter range of 1-6.35 mum by using an electronic particle size analyzer (Coulter Counter). Liposomes containing retinal were shifted toward smaller sizes and had less total surface area and volume. It was suggested that retinal-containing liposomes may have had a tighter packing of the molecules in the phospholipid bilayer. This effect of retinal on liposomal structure may have been responsible for the observed decreased binding of C3 and total complement protein.