The effect of antibiotics on the electrical polarisability of aqueous suspensions of bacteria.

The orientation of washed Escherichia coli bacteria in suspension induced by applied a.c. electric fields has been monitored by observing the accompanying changes in the intensity of light scattered by the suspension. The data enable the anisotropy of electrical polarisability deltaalpha to be determined. Changes in deltaalpha due to the addition of various antibiotics to the suspension have been measured as a function of both the antibiotic concentration and the temperature of the suspension. The results are taken to indicate that there is an accumulation of the antibiotic molecules at the bacterial surface.     

Results of the study of preventive effectiveness and side effects of anti-influenza lactoglobulin in controlled epidemiologic trial]

Prophylactic activity and side action of antiinfluenza lactoglobulin were studied under conditions of controlled epidemiological trial in 6361 persons during the epidemiological rise of influenza incidence. The data obtained pointed to the absence of any protective effect of antiinfluenza lactoglobulin. Marked allergenic properties of lactoglobulin and development of sensitization in the persons under observation were found during the study of the side-effect of the preparation. Thus, the absence of prophylactic efficacy and the sensitizing action of antiinfluenza lactoglobulin pointed to the inexpediency of its use for prophylactic and therapeutic purpose.     

Independent genes coding for three acidic proteins of the large ribosomal subunit from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The yeast ribosome contains three acidic proteins, L44, L44', and L45, closely related from a structural point of view, that seem to play a functional role similar to that of proteins L7 and L12 in the bacterial ribosome. By screening a cDNA bank in lambda gt11 with specific polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies, recombinant phages expressing each one of the acidic proteins have been cloned. A unique copy of each gene is detected using the phage cDNA inserts as probes in nitrocellulose blots of yeast DNA digested with different restriction enzymes. The inserts were subcloned in the plasmid pUC19, and their physical maps and nucleotide sequences were determined. By using the cDNA inserts as probes in genomic DNA banks, DNA fragments carrying the acidic protein genes have been cloned, characterized, and sequenced. The results conclusively show that the three yeast acidic proteins are coded by independent genes and are not the result of a post-translational modification of the product of a unique gene, as in bacteria. Like most ribosomal protein genes, the gene for protein L44' has an intron and two upstream stimulatory boxes (UASrpg) fitting closely to the consensus sequence. The genes coding for proteins L44 and L45 lack introns and seem also exceptional in other characteristics of their sequences. Proteins L44 and L45 have amino acid sequences with about 80% similarity. Protein L44' is only 63% similar to the other two polypeptides. The three proteins have highly conserved carboxyl termini comprising the last 30 amino acids, and the first 10 amino acids of L44 and L45 are identical. The results cast doubts about the possibility of a similar role for the different acidic ribosomal proteins.     

Crystallins in the differentiation and regeneration processes of the crystalline lens in amphibia

The published and authors' data have been summarized on (1) the spectrum and properties of crystallins in different amphibian species, (2) localization and synthesis of crystallins in different cellular compartments of the adult amphibian lens, (3) dynamics of crystallin formation during embryogenesis and (4) lens regeneration from tissues of the larval and adult amphibian eyes. The necessity of more detailed studies of crystallin synthesis during embryogenesis and lens regeneration using molecular biological and biochemical methods is stressed. The significance of this approach is illustrated by the pioneering data of Soviet scientists on crystallin polypeptides and corresponding mRNAs in development of Rana temporaria obtained with the use of DNA-RNA hybridization and immunoelectroblotting.     

The ACTH-immunoreactive system in the brain of the white-crowned sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii (Passeriformes, Emberizidae)

The ACTH-immunoreactive (ir) system of the avian brain is particularly conspicuous in the male white-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii). The irperikaryal population is concentrated mainly within the tuberal region, projecting primarily in a dorsal direction: (i) into the striatum; (ii) into rostral diencephalic, septal, hyperstriatal, and thalamic areas; and (iii) into dorsal and ventral areas of the brain stem. Ir-fibers seemingly contact local non-immunoreactive neurons mainly in the accumbens nucleus, septum, dorsal thalamic nuclei, infundibular and interpeduncular nuclei, and in the rostral diencephalon. Neurohemal zones are not supplied by ACTH-ir terminals. Immunocytochemical problems arising from the complexity of the proopiomelanocortin molecule and its derived peptide components are discussed in relation to phylogenetically directed studies, and contradictory results.