Cytochemical and functional evaluation of ACTH responsive isolated rat adrenocortical cells. The maintenance of sex differences

The critical evaluation of isolation methods for obtaining the adrenocortical cell suspension due to trypsin or collagenase digestion was done. Some collagenase advantages were indicated by morphological observations on the staining smears as well as by ACTH stimulation test. The cytochemical reactions for enzyme activities had the limited applications for those purposes. It also appeared that commonly applied dye exclusion tests were inadequate for characterization of cell suspension. The possible role of the adrenocortical cell debris in the basal corticosterone production was pointed out. The maintenance of the sex dimorphism and the functional differences in the adrenocortical cells isolated from male and female rats have been observed.     

Effect of tubulozole, a new synthetic microtubule inhibitor, on the induction of casein gene expression by prolactin

Colchicine and related drugs are known to inhibit milk secretion. They are also able to prevent stimulation of casein and DNA synthesis by prolactin in the mammary gland. The present report reports data obtained with tubulozole, a new antimitotic drug. Tubulozole C added to culture medium of isolated rabbit epithelial mammary cells strongly inhibited their multiplication. Simultaneously, at a concentration of 1 microM, it prevented almost completely the induction of beta-casein mRNA. Induced cells were rapidly deinduced by addition of the drug to the medium. A similar inhibition was observed when the induction was obtained with prolactin alone or with its two stimulators insulin and glucocorticoids. Tubulozole T, an isomer of tubulozole C which is known to be ineffective in disrupting microtubules, did not alter prolactin actions. These data and those obtained with other tubulin-binding drugs strongly suggest that the integrity of microtubules is required for prolactin to deliver its message to the mammary cell.     

Effects of isotretinoin on the behavior of neural crest cells in vitro

Isotretinoin (13-cis-retinoic acid), an anti-acne medication, has been found to cause severe birth defects which affect the craniofacial elements, ear, heart, thymus, and central nervous system. Many of these structures receive contributions from the cranial neural crest. Here, we examine the possibility that these teratogenic effects are due to disturbances in neural crest development. Cranial and trunk neural crest explant cultures were exposed to different concentrations of isotretinoin and the cell morphology was monitored at daily intervals. Treated neural crest cells often became rounded or spindle shaped, separated from their neighbors, and frequently detached from the substrate or clumped together. In contrast, neural tube cells and cardiac fibroblasts were relatively unaffected by the drug. These results suggest that isotretinoin selectively affects neural crest cells by decreasing their cell-substratum adhesion.     

Current approaches to the synthesis and reconstruction of genetic material

Advanced approaches to the synthesis and reconstruction of genetic material developed in the Institutes of Molecular Biology and Genetics during the past years are summarized. The evolution of methods for oligonucleotide synthesis and scopes for their use in gene production are discussed. The principles of localised mutagenesis methods developed in the Institute are described, such as: a) mutagenesis directed to the regulatory gene regions; b) segment-localized mutagenesis; c) mutagenesis directed by phosphotriester analogues of oligonucleotides. Examples of employing these methods for induction of regulatory mutants of phage lambda, production of fused genes, mutant interferon genes, construction of new DNA vectors, construction of hybrid H1-H3 subtype haemagglutinine gene of influenza virus etc. are presented. The approach to in vivo site-directed mutagenesis is experimentally substantiated.     

Evidence for ligand- and pH-dependent conformational changes in liposome-associated mannose 6-phosphate receptor

Digestion of mannose 6-phosphate receptor preparations with trypsin and chymotrypsin was found to produce characteristic polypeptide "fingerprints" of the receptor. Lengthy digestions with both proteases produced fragments of the receptor which appeared to be resistant to further proteolysis. This suggests the occurrence of distinct structural domains within the receptor protein. Liposome-associated mannose 6-phosphate receptor preparations were made using phosphatidylcholine and purified receptor. Receptor molecules were oriented in the liposomes with greater than 90% of ligand-binding sites on the outside surfaces of the liposomes. Liposome-associated mannose 6-phosphate receptor was labeled with 125I at pH 7.5 and 5.4 in the presence or absence of sugar phosphate ligands. Limited trypsin digestion was used to analyze 125I-labeled receptor preparations. Peptide fragments having molecular weights of approximately 60,000 and 23,000 were found to be most prominently labeled. At pH 7.5 the labeling of the 60-kDa fragment was enhanced strongly by the presence of mannose 6-phosphate. This ligand-induced enhancement of 125I-labeling was saturable, had a K1/2 value of 0.4 mM, required the presence of phosphatidylcholine, and did not occur at pH 5.4. Incorporation of 125I into both polypeptide fragments was significantly reduced at pH 5.4. These results suggest the occurrence of ligand- and pH-dependent conformational changes in domains of the mannose 6-phosphate receptor which may be necessary for proper function of this membrane receptor in receptor-mediated endocytosis.     

Stimulated neutrophils produce an ethanolamine plasmalogen analog of platelet-activating factor

Human neutrophils stimulated by ionophore A23187 incorporate [3H]acetate into platelet-activating factor and an additional product which is chromatographically similar to phosphatidylethanolamine and accounts for approximately 25% of the [3H]acetate-containing lipids. Three general approaches indicated the sn-1 moiety of the unknown phospholipid is primarily alk-1'-enyl-linked: 1) approximately 80% of the intact phospholipid as well as its derivatives was highly sensitive to hydrolysis by HCl, 2) 80% of the product which resulted from treating the unknown with phospholipase C and acetylating the free hydroxyl group at the sn-3 position, chromatographed with authentic 1-O-alk-1'-enyl-2,3-diacetylglycerol, and 3) catalytic hydrogenation of the diacetylglycerol product described in 2) resulted in a product which chromatographed with alkyldiacetylglycerol and was not sensitive to strong acid. Treatment of the intact phospholipid with phospholipase A2 resulted in the release of 88% of the radiolabel into the acidified aqueous phase of the extraction mixture, indicating the moiety in the sn-2 position remained as acetate and had not been elongated to fatty acid. The head group was determined to be phosphoethanolamine based upon its complete conversion to the dinitro- and trinitrophenyl derivatives by the amine-derivatizing reagents fluorodinitrobenzene and trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid, respectively. From these data is was concluded that the unknown product is 1-O-alk-1'-enyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (80%), and 1-O-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (10%). Sonicates prepared from neutrophils stimulated with ionophore A23187 contained an acetyltransferase activity capable of utilizing 1-O-alk-1'-enyl-2-lyso-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine and [14C]acetyl-CoA to produce the product identified as 1-O-alk-1'-enyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine.     

Partial repair of deamidation-damaged calmodulin by protein carboxyl methyltransferase

Modification of calmodulin by protein carboxyl methyltransferase requires deamidation of one or more labile asparagine residues (Johnson, B.A., Freitag, N. E., and Aswad, D. W. (1985) J. Biol. Chem. 260, 10913-10916). We now show that deamidation results in the generation of two altered forms of calmodulin, designated A and B, which can be separated by electrophoresis under nondenaturing conditions. The A form is characterized by a larger apparent molecular radius, has only 10% the activity of native calmodulin when assayed for its ability to activate a Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase from rat brain, and serves as an excellent substrate for the methyltransferase. The B form more closely resembles native calmodulin: it has an apparent molecular radius more like the native, exhibits about 40% the activity of native calmodulin, and is a relatively poor methyl acceptor. Evidence suggests that the A and B forms probably contain isoaspartate (A) and aspartate (B) in place of Asn-60 and/or Asn-97. Incubation of the A form with methyltransferase and S-adenosyl-L-methionine converts about half of the A form to an electrophoretic band indistinguishable from the B form. The activity of this partly converted calmodulin rises to 30-50% that of native calmodulin. These observations imply that the methyltransferase may have a biological role in restoring activity to proteins which contain abnormal isoaspartyl peptide bonds resulting from asparagine deamidation.     

Characterization of the major hydroperoxide-reducing activity of human plasma. Purification and properties of a selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase

We have recently characterized the major hydroperoxide-reducing enzyme of human plasma as a glutathione peroxidase (Maddipati, K. R., Gasparski, C., and Marnett, L. J. (1987) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 254, 9-17). We now report the purification and kinetic characterization of this enzyme. The purification steps involved ammonium sulfate precipitation, hydrophobic interaction chromatography on phenyl-Sepharose, anion exchange chromatography, and gel filtration. The purified peroxidase has a specific activity of 26-29 mumol/min/mg with hydrogen peroxide as substrate. The human plasma glutathione peroxidase is a tetramer of identical subunits of 21.5 kDa molecular mass as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and is different from human erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase. The plasma peroxidase is a selenoprotein containing one selenium per subunit. Unlike several other glutathione peroxidases this enzyme exhibits saturation kinetics with respect to glutathione (Km for glutathione = 4.3 mM). The peroxidase exhibits high affinity for hydroperoxides with Km values ranging from 2.3 microM for 13-hydroperoxy-9,11-octadecadienoic acid to 13.3 microM for hydrogen peroxide at saturating glutathione concentration. These kinetic parameters are suggestive of the potential of human plasma glutathione peroxidase as an important regulator of plasma hydroperoxide levels.     

The effect of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate on the tetramer-dimer equilibrium of carbon monoxide hemoglobin in dilute solution. Correlation between sedimentation and kinetic behavior

The effect of 2,3-diphospho-D-glycerate on the sedimentation coefficient of carbon monoxide hemoglobin was correlated with the fraction of rapidly reacting hemoglobin observed subsequent to flash photolysis at 23 degrees C at pH 7.30 in buffers of 0.1 M ionic strength. Concentrations of the organic phosphate up to about 5 mM resulted in an increase in S20,w, consistent with an increase in the fraction of tetrameric hemoglobin. A decrease in rapidly reacting hemoglobin parallelled the increase in the sedimentation coefficient. Between 5 and 20 mM 2,3-diphosphoglycerate, S20,w decreased, suggesting that dissociation to dimers was enhanced. An increase in rapidly reacting hemoglobin was also observed in this concentration range. Similar sedimentation results were obtained with oxyhemoglobin at pH 7.00 and carbon monoxide hemoglobin at pH 7.06. Assuming single binding sites on each species, the dissociation constants for 2,3-diphosphoglycerate binding to tetrameric and dimeric HbCO are 0.2-0.3 mM and 2-5 mM at pH 7.30. This biphasic effect of this physiologically important organic phosphate on the state of aggregation of R state hemoglobin has not been previously reported, but it is similar to that previously noted with inositol hexaphosphate, which enhanced tetramer formation at low concentrations, while at higher concentrations it promoted hemoglobin dissociation to dimers (White, S. L. (1976) J. Biol. Chem. 251, 4763-4769; Gray, R. D. (1980) J. Biol. Chem. 255, 1812-1818).