Relationship between adipocyte hypertrophy and metabolic disturbances

Enlargement of fat cells is known to be a factor stimulating metabolic rates in adipose tissue and thus playing a role in the pathogenesis of certain metabolic disorders. Excessive adipose-cell hypertrophy of the same degree was observed in disturbances of carbohydrate (e.g. in subclinical or maturity onset diabetes) as well as of triglyceride metabolism, despite the fact that body weight in these patient groups was lower than in control subjects (with the exception of subclinical diabetics). Significant correlations between adipocyte volumes and serum triglyceride levels are in agreement with this conception. Similar characteristics of insulin concentrations measured during an oral glucose tolerance test and adipose-cell hypertrophy of the same degree may suggest a comparable influence on the development of carbohydrate intolerance and hypertriglyceridemia. Moreover, our investigations show an increasing of the prevalence of diabetes mellitus, hypertriglyceridemia and hypercholesterolemia up to a Broca Index of 1.2. This points to an extremely high metabolic risk even in people with slight overweight provided the adipocytes are significantly enlarged. Thus, adipocyte size appears to be a good parameter to characterize metabolic impairments.     

Verteilung und Aktivität hydrolytischer Enzyme in Hypophysenadenomen

Zusammenfassung An 17 Hypophysenadenomen [12 Chromophobe (endokrin-inaktive), 5 Mischtypadenome (endokrin-aktive)] wurde das Verhalten und die Aktivität der hydrolytischen Enzyme -Galaktosidase, -Glucuronidase, -Glykosidase und Arylsulfatase mit histochemischen Methoden geprüft.Die Mischtypadenome zeigen insgesamt eine höhere Aktivität als die Chromophoben. Dabei reagieren -Galaktosidase und -Glykosidase am stärksten, -Glucuronidase etwas schwächer, während Arylsulfatase die niedrigste Aktivität zeigt. Die Befunde werden mit anderen enzymhistochemischen Untersuchungen an Hypophysenadenomen und tierexperimentellen Ergebnissen verglichen. Daraus folgt, daß wahrscheinlich zwischen der Aktivität der untersuchten lysosomalen Enzyme und der endokrinen Aktivität ein Zusammenhang besteht.

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Summary Behaviour and activity of the hydrolytic enzymes -galactosidase, -glucuronidase, -glycosidase and arylsulphatase are tested in 17 adenomas of the hypophysis (12 chromophobic, endocrine-inactive; 5 mixed cell adenomas, endocrine-active).Mixed cell adenomas show an altogether higher activity than chromophobic adenomas. -galactosidase and -glycosidase show the highest, -glucuronidase a slightly lower, and arylsulphatase the lowest activity. The findings are compared with other enzymhistochemical methods and results from animal experiments. The results of this comparison indicate that there is a correlation between the endocrine activity of the lysosomal enzymes in question.

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Der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft danken wir für ihre Unterstützung.

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Fräulein Renate Kott, Fräulein Marianne Lehnen und Fräulein Edith Klasmeier danke ich für ihre technische Unterstützung.     

Draft genome sequence of Rhodococcus rhodochrous strain ATCC 17895

Rhodococcus rhodochrous ATCC 17895 possesses an array of mono- and dioxygenases, as well as hydratases, which makes it an interesting organism for biocatalysis. R. rhodochrous is a Gram-positive aerobic bacterium with a rod-like morphology. Here we describe the features of this organism, together with the complete genome sequence and annotation. The 6,869,887 bp long genome contains 6,609 protein-coding genes and 53 RNA genes. Based on small subunit rRNA analysis, the strain is more likely to be a strain of Rhodococcus erythropolis rather than Rhodococcus rhodochrous.     

MECP2 mutations in sporadic cases of Rett syndrome are almost exclusively of paternal origin

Rett syndrome (RTT) is an X-linked neurodevelopmental disorder that apparently is lethal in male embryos. RTT almost exclusively affects female offspring and, in 99.5% of all cases, is sporadic and due to de novo mutations in the MECP2 gene. Familial cases of RTT are rare and are due to X-chromosomal inheritance from a carrier mother. We analyzed the parental origin of MECP2 mutations in sporadic cases of RTT, by analysis of linkage between the mutation in the MECP2 gene and intronic polymorphisms in 27 families with 15 different mutations, and we found a high predominance of mutations of paternal origin in 26 of 27 cases (P<.001). The paternal origin was independent of type of mutation and was found for single-base exchanges as well as for deletions. Parents were not of especially advanced age. We conclude that de novo mutations in RTT occur almost exclusively on the paternally derived X chromosome and that this is most probably the cause for the high female:male ratio observed in patients with RTT. Affected males recently have been described in a few cases of familial inheritance. Identification of the parental origin may be useful to distinguish between the sporadic form of RTT and a potentially familial form. This distinction will allow geneticists to offer more-specific counseling and discriminate between higher (maternal origin) and lower (paternal origin) recurrence risk.     

Biosynthesis of the marine antibiotic pentabromopseudilin. 2. The pyrrole ring

The biosynthesis of the potent marine antibiotic, pentabromopseudilin (1), was investigated. Feeding studies with Alteromonas luteoviolaceus were performed on a defined medium. D,L-[5-(13)C]proline was incorporated symmetrically, demonstrating that the pyrrole ring of pentabromopseudilin is derived from proline.     

Purification,characterization, and cloning of a bifunctional molybdoenzyme with hydratase and alcohol dehydrogenase activity

A bifunctional hydratase/alcohol dehydrogenase was isolated from the cyclohexanol degrading bacterium Alicycliphilus denitrificans DSMZ 14773. The enzyme catalyzes the addition of water to α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds and the subsequent alcohol oxidation. The purified enzyme showed three subunits in SDS gel, and the gene sequence revealed that this enzyme belongs to the molybdopterin binding oxidoreductase family containing molybdopterins, FAD, and iron-sulfur clusters.     

Study on the isomerism in meso-amavadin and an amavadin analogue

An X-ray crystallographic study of 'meso-amavadin' revealed that in the crystal the negatively charged anionic species of the title compound join into infinite hydrogen-bonded chains, counterbalanced by cationic hydronium species. Along with water of crystallization a three-dimensional hydrogen-bonded network is formed. Based on NMR- and X-ray data of amavadin and 'meso-amavadin', a model was developed that accounts for the structure of amavadin-type complexes, i.e. vanadium(IV) non-oxo complexes that contain two ligands with a tridentate N-hydroxyiminodiacetate backbone. The model describes the different arrangements of the two ligands around the vanadium and it accounts for eventual symmetry in the complex. The model was used for the interpretation of NMR-data of an amavadin analogue with a benzyl group at the ligand backbone.     

Sol–gels and cross-linked aggregates of lipase PS from Burkholderia cepacia and their application in dry organic solvents

Lipase PS from Burkholderia cepacia (formerly Pseudomonas cepacia) was successfully immobilized in sol–gels under low methanol conditions using lyophilization in order to dry the gel. The enzyme was also cross-linked with glutaraldehyde to CLEAs without any additives. These immobilized enzyme preparations were employed for the highly enantioselective acylations of 1-phenylethanol (1), 1-(2-furyl)ethanol (2) and N-acylated 1-amino-2-phenylethanol (3) with vinyl acetate in organic solvents. Enzymatic hydrolysis of the obtained ester product was observed as a side reaction of the acylation of 3 in the presence of lipase PS powder. Hydrolysis was suppressed when the immobilized preparations of lipase PS were used.