Secreted Nucleobindin-2 Inhibits 3T3-L1 Adipocyte Differentiation

Nucleobindin-2 is a 420 amino acid EF-hand Ca2+ binding protein that can be further processed to generate an 82 amino terminal peptide termed Nesfatin-1. To examine the function of secreted Nucleobindin-2 in adipocyte differentiation, cultured 3T3-L1 cells were incubated with either 0 or 100 nM of GST, GST-Nucleobindin-2, prior to and during the initiation of adipocyte differentiation. Nucleobindin-2 treatment decreased neutral lipid accumulation (Oil-Red O staining) and expression of several marker genes for adipocyte differentiation (PPARγ, aP2, and adipsin). When Nucleobindin- 2 was constitutively secreted into cultured medium, cAMP content and insulin stimulated CREB phosphorylation were significantly reduced. On the other hand, intracellularly overexpressed Nucleobindin-2 failed to affect cAMP content and CREB phosphorylation. Taken together, these data indicate that secreted Nucleobindin-2 is a suppressor of adipocyte differentiation through inhibition of cAMP production and insulin signal.     

Effect of beta-adrenergic blockers on the sickling phenomenon

Dichloroisoproterenol (DCI) and propranolol were found to inhibit sickling in vivo when they were added to red-cell suspensions prior to deoxygenation. The effectiveness was maximal between PO2's of 30 and 40 mmHg (1 mmHg = 133.322 Pa). When cells were sickled at a low oxygen tension (PO2 = 32 mmHg), and then DCI was added later, the drug decreased the degree of sickling while the suspension was maintained at the same oxygen tension. The antisickling effect of these drugs was not antagonized by isoproterenol, a beta-adrenergic stimulator, by the addition of cAMP or increase of the intracellular calcium concentration. Other beta-blockers, such as MJ1999 (sotalol) and timolol, did not show antisickling activity. It was also found that DCI, propranolol, and timolol had some effect on the delay time of gelation of sickle-cell hemoglobin (Hb S), as well as on the oxygen affinity of sickle cells.     

Establishment, Growth kinetics, and Susceptibility to AcMNPV of Heat Tolerant Lepidop teran Cell Lines

Lepidopteran heat-tolerant(ht)cell lines have been obtained with sf-9,sf-21 and several Bombyx cells.They have a distinct karyotype,membrane lipid composition,morphology and growth kinetics from the parental cell lines.In this paper,we report the development of ht cell lines from other insect species and examination of their growth characteristics and virus susceptibility.Adaptation of cell lines sf-9,BTI-TN-5131-4(High5)and BTI-TN-MG1(MG 1)to 33℃ and 35℃ was carried out by shifting the culture temperature between 28℃ and higher temperatures by a gradual stepwise increase in temperature.The process of adaption to a higher culture temperature was accomplished over a period of 2 months.The cell lines with the temperature adaption were designated as sf9-ht33,sf9-ht35,High5-ht33,High5-ht35,MG1-ht33,MG1-ht35.These cell lines have been subcultured over 70 passages.Adaption to high temperatures was confirmed by a constant population doubling time with individual cell lines.The population doubling time of heat adapted cell lines were 1-4 h less than these of parental cell lines.Cell shapes did not show obvious change,however,the cell size of sf9-ht cells was enlarged and those of High5 and MG1 ht cells were reduced after heat adaption.When the cell lines were infected with Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus(AcMNPV)at 28℃,33℃,35℃ and 37℃,production of budded virus and occlusion bodies in each cell line was optimum at its own adapted temperature.     

Docosahexaenoic acid supplementation-increased oxidative damage in bone marrow DNA in aged rats and its relation to antioxidant vitamins

We compared the influence of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplementation on oxidative DNA damage in bone marrow between young and aged rats. As a marker of oxidative DNA damage, 8-hydroxydeoxy-guanosine (8-OHdG) in DNA was analyzed. Young (5-week-old) and aged (100-week-old) female Wistar rats were given DHA (300mg/kg body weight/day) or vehicle (control) orally for 12 weeks. The 8-OHdG in the bone marrow in the aged DHA group was significantly higher than that in the other groups. Vitamin E concentrations, however, did not differ among the groups regardless of the DHA supplementation. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) concentrations in the aged control group were approximately 1/2 those in the young control group. The concentrations of vitamin C tended to be higher in the young DHA group and lower in the aged DHA group when compared to their respective control groups. Changes in the concentrations of vitamin C and vitamin E in plasma were similar to those in the bone marrow. The activity of hepatic l-gulono- γ -lactone oxidase, an enzyme responsible for vitamin C synthesis, corresponded well to the concentrations of vitamin C in the bone marrow and the plasma. These results suggest that in aged rats, but not young rats, excess supplementation of DHA induces oxidative DNA damage in bone marrow and that the decrease in vitamin C synthesis in aged rats is involved in the mechanisms of DNA damage.     

Analysis of Petal Anthocyanins to Investigate Flower Coloration of Zhongyuan (Chinese) and Daikon Island (Japanese) Tree Peony Cultivars

Pn, Pg; Pn, Pg > Cy ; Pn, Cy and Pn, Cy > Pg groups. Each group consequently specified significant features among CIELAB color notation and petal pigmentation, being adequate to characterize tree peony flowers as similar between Zhongyuan and Daikon Island cultivars, thus the cultivars of the two areas are suggested to be related to one another. Received 25 April 2000/ Accepted in revised form 21 December 2000     

Phosphorylation of smg p21, a ras p21-like GTP-binding protein, by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase in a cell-free system and in response to prostaglandin E1 in intact human platelets

We have separated multiple small Mr GTP-binding proteins (G proteins) from bovine brain membranes by several column chromatographies and purified to near homogeneity four of them, including a novel Mr 24,000 G protein (smg p25A), a novel Mr 22,000 G protein (smg p21), the rho protein (rho p20), and the c-Ki-ras protein (c-Ki-ras p21). Among these small Mr G proteins, only smg p21 is phosphorylated stoichiometrically by cAMP-dependent protein kinase (protein kinase A), and c-Ki-ras p21 is phosphorylated to a small extent by protein kinase A in a cell-free system. None of smg p25A, rho p20, and other partially purified small Mr G proteins is phosphorylated by protein kinase A. Neither smg p21 nor other small Mr G proteins are phosphorylated by protein kinase C. About 1 mol of phosphate is maximally incorporated into 1 mol of smg p21 by protein kinase A. Only serine residue(s) are phosphorylated. The guanosine 5'-3-O-(thio) triphosphate (GTP gamma S)-bound and GDP-bound forms of smg p21 are phosphorylated with the same reaction velocity. The phosphorylation of smg p21 affects neither its GTP gamma S-binding nor GTPase activity. smg p21 is found in human platelets, and this human platelet smg p21 is also phosphorylated by protein kinase A at the same site(s) as bovine brain smg p21 in a cell-free system. When intact human platelets are stimulated by prostaglandin E1 known to elevate the cAMP level, four proteins with apparent Mr values of 240,000, 50,000, 24,000, and 22,000 are phosphorylated. These four proteins are also phosphorylated by the action of dibutyryl cAMP but not by the action of thrombin, Ca2+ ionophore A23187, or 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate. Among the four proteins, the Mr 22,000 protein is identified as smg p21. The site(s) of phosphorylation of smg p21 by protein kinase A in a cell-free system are identical to that phosphorylated in response to prostaglandin E1 in intact platelets. These results indicate that among many small Mr G proteins, smg p21 is selectively phosphorylated by protein kinase A and that this G protein is also phosphorylated by this protein kinase in response to prostaglandin E1 in intact human platelets.     

Calyculin A and okadaic acid: inhibitors of protein phosphatase activity

Calyculin A and okadaic acid induce contraction in smooth muscle fibers. Okadaic acid is an inhibitor of phosphatase activity and the aims of this study were to determine if calyculin A also inhibits phosphatase and to screen effects of both compounds on various phosphatases. Neither compound inhibited acid or alkaline phosphatases, nor the phosphotyrosine protein phosphatase. Both compounds were potent inhibitors of the catalytic subunit of type-2A phosphatase, with IC50 values of 0.5 to 1 nM. With the catalytic subunit of protein phosphatase type-1, calyculin A was a more effective inhibitor than okadaic acid, IC50 values for calyculin A were about 2 nM and for okadaic acid between 60 and 500 nM. The endogenous phosphatase of smooth muscle myosin B was inhibited by both compounds with IC50 values of 0.3 to 0.7 nM and 15 to 70 nM, for calyculin A and okadaic acid, respectively. The partially purified catalytic subunit from myosin B had IC50 values of 0.7 and 200 nM for calyculin A and okadaic acid, respectively. The pattern of inhibition for the phosphatase in myosin B therefore is similar to that of the type-1 enzyme.     

Two distinct O-methyltransferases in aflatoxin biosynthesis.

The substances belonging to the sterigmatocystin group bear a close structural relationship to aflatoxins. When demethylsterigmatocystin (DMST) was fed to Aspergillus parasiticus NIAH-26, which endogenously produces neither aflatoxins nor precursors in YES medium, aflatoxins B1 and G1 were produced. When dihydrodemethylsterigmatocystin (DHDMST) was fed to this mutant, aflatoxins B2 and G2 were produced. Results of the cell-free experiment with S-adenosyl-[methyl-3H]methionine showed that first the C-6-OH groups of DMST and DHDMST are methylated to produce sterigmatocystin and dihydrosterigmatocystin (O-methyltransferase I) and then the C-7-OH groups are methylated to produce O-methylsterigmatocystin (OMST) and dihydro-O-methylsterigmatocystin (DHOMST) (O-methyltransferase II). However, no methyltransferase activity was observed when either OMST, DHOMST, 5,6-dimethoxysterigmatocystin, 5-methoxysterigmatocystin, or sterigmatin was incubated with the cell extract. Treatment of the cell extract with N-ethylmaleimide inhibited O-methyltransferase I activity but not that of O-methyltransferase II. Furthermore, these O-methyltransferases were different in their protein molecules and were involved in both the reactions from DMST to OMST and DHDMST to DHOMST. The reactions described in this paper were not observed when the same mold had been cultured in YEP medium.     

Nucleosome compaction facilitates HP1γ binding to methylated H3K9

The α, β and γ isoforms of mammalian heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) selectively bind to methylated lysine 9 of histone H3 via their chromodomains. Although the phenotypes of HP1-knockout mice are distinct for each isoform, the molecular mechanisms underlying HP1 isoform-specific function remain elusive. In the present study, we found that in contrast to HP1α, HP1γ could not bind tri-methylated H3 lysine 9 in a reconstituted tetra-nucleosomes when the nucleosomes were in an uncompacted state. The hinge region connecting HP1''s chromodomain and chromoshadow domain contributed to the distinct recognition of the nucleosomes by HP1α and HP1γ. HP1γ, but not HP1α, was strongly enhanced in selective binding to tri-methylated lysine 9 in histone H3 by the addition of Mg²⁺ or linker histone H1, which are known to induce compaction of nucleosomes. We propose that this novel property of HP1γ recognition of lysine 9 in the histone H3 tail in different nucleosome structures plays a role in reading the histone code.     

Immunoelectron microscopy of tissues processed by rapid freezing and freeze-substitution fixation without chemical fixatives: application to catalase in rat liver hepatocytes

We report on the immunohistochemical demonstration of an enzyme at the electron microscopic level using specimens processed by rapid freezing and the freeze-substitution technique without the use of any chemical fixatives. Fresh rat liver tissue blocks were rapidly frozen by the metal contact method using liquid nitrogen, and were freeze-substituted with acetone without any chemical fixatives at -80 degrees C. Some of the freeze-substituted tissues were embedded in Lowicryl K4M at -20 degrees C; the others were returned to room temperature and embedded in Epok 812 at 60 degrees C. Ultra-thin sections were stained using anti-peroxisomal catalase antibody by the protein A-gold technique. The ultrastructure of the hepatocytes was very well preserved compared with that of conventionally processed tissues. The labeling for catalase was confined to peroxisomes. When the labeling density was compared among freeze-substituted tissues and conventionally processed tissues, that of freeze-substituted and Lowicryl K4M-embedded tissues was the most intense. These results show the usefulness of freeze-substituted tissues for immunohistochemical analysis of cell organelles.