Mycocin production in Pseudozyma tsukubaensis

Killer activity expressed at pH values ranging from 3.5 to 6.0 was found in the ustilaginaceous yeast-like species, Pseudozyma tsukubaensis. Its killer phenotype was incurable, and extrachromosomal genetic elements were not detected. The toxin excreted with a molecular mass above 15 kDa is fungicidal, resistant to proteolytic cleavage, thermolabile and active only against fungi within the Ustilaginomycetes (the orders Microstromatales and Ustilaginales).     

Influence of acute hemorrhage on erythrodieresis

Influence of acute hemorrhage on peritoneal and splenic macrophages function and NO production was studied. Interaction of peritoneal and splenic macrophages with autologous erythrocytes was examined the day after the hemorrhage. Concentration of nitrate ions: the stable metabolites of nitric oxide, was measured in peritoneal lavage, splenic cells suspension, blood, as well as in supernatant of peritoneal and splenic macrophages before and after hemorrhage. The data obtained suggest that splenic macrophages of intact rats are more active than peritoneal ones. After hemorrhage peritoneal macrophages activity increases, whereas splenic macrophages remain unchanged. Concentration of nitrate ions is significantly reduced after hemorrhage.     

Stimulation of nitrate reductase activity of the salt-tolerant yeast Rhodotorula glutinis by tungsten in the presence of molybdenum

Tungsten in the presence of molybdenum stimulates nitrate reductase activity and growth of the salt-tolerant yeast Rhodotorula glutinis on medium with nitrates. Tungsten is not incorporated in proteins possessing nitrate reductase activity. A significant increase in molybdenum cofactor in cells grown on medium with equimolar amounts of molybdenum and tungsten may relate to the stimulatory action of tungsten.     

Biological role of a neurotrophic factor fragment from pigment epithelium: structure-functional homology with a differentiation factor for the HL-60 cell line

It was shown that the full-size neurotrophic factor from pigment epithelium (PEDF) induces the cell differentiation of the human promyelocyte leukemia cell line HL-60. A structural analysis of PEDF revealed in its C-terminal region a six-membered peptide fragment PEDF-(352-357) (PEDF-6) whose sequence is highly homologous to the 41-46 fragment of the active site of the human leukocyte differentiation factor HLDF (HLDF-6). The biological effect of PEDF and synthetic peptides PEDF-6 and HLDF-6 on the HL-60 cells and the early gastrula ectoderm of Xenopus laevis embryos was studied. On the basis of the structural and functional homologies of HLDF, PEDF, and their homologous peptides and the computer models of the spatial structures of the full-size PEDF and the PEDF with the C-terminal fragment split off tby the cleavage of the Leu380-Thr381 bond in the serpin loop, a hypothesis on the functional role of the serpin loop in PEDF was put forward.     

Distribution of MT1 Melatonin Receptor Promoter-Driven RFP Expression in the Brains of BAC C3H/HeN Transgenic Mice

The pineal hormone melatonin activates two G-protein coupled receptors (MT₁ and MT₂) to regulate in part biological functions. The MT₁ and MT₂ melatonin receptors are heterogeneously distributed in the mammalian brain including humans. In the mouse, only a few reports have assessed the expression of the MT₁ melatonin receptor expression using 2-iodomelatonin binding, in situ hybridization and/or polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Here, we described a transgenic mouse in which red fluorescence protein (RFP) is expressed under the control of the endogenous MT₁ promoter, by inserting RFP cDNA at the start codon of MTNR1a gene within a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) and expressing this construct as a transgene. The expression of RFP in the brain of this mouse was examined either directly under a fluorescent microscope or immunohistochemically using an antibody against RFP (RFP-MT₁). RFP-MT₁ expression was observed in many brain regions including the subcommissural organ, parts of the ependyma lining the lateral and third ventricles, the aqueduct, the hippocampus, the cerebellum, the pars tuberalis, the habenula and the habenula commissure. This RFP-MT₁ transgenic model provides a unique tool for studying the distribution of the MT₁ receptor in the brain of mice, its cell-specific expression and its function in vivo.     

Vomeronasal/accessory olfactory system and pheromonal recognition

Pregnancy block in mice requires exposure of recently mated females to urinary pheromones of a strange male, and when working with inbred strains this invariably requires urine from an outbred line. The pheromones which induce oestrus and early puberty in mice have been identified as the brevicomins and dihydrothiazoles. Since the same vomeronasal, neural and neuroendocrine pathways are also activated in pregnancy block, these compounds are likely candidates for pregnancy blocking pheromones. However, these relatively simple chemicals lack the capacity to code for differing mouse strains. Since large quantities of the polymorphic major urinary proteins from the lipocalin family found in urine serve as transporters for the dihydrothiazoles and brevicomins, and differ across strains, then these proteins must participate in pheromone recognition in the context of pregnancy block.