Consistency index of daily activity pattern and its correlations with subjective ratings of QOL

Sleep and Biological Rhythms - Since sleep is under circadian and homeostatic regulation, the status of regulatory mechanisms can be known from daily activity patterns, including both sleep and...     

Suborganellar localization of proteinase catalyzing the limited hydrolysis of pumpkin globulin

Protein bodies were prepared from the cotyledons of pumpkin (Cucurbita sp.) seeds by employing a nonaqueous isolation method. Both light micrographic examination and the marker enzyme assays have shown that the isolated protein bodies were intact and contamination with other cell organelles or cytoplasmic components was negligible. A proteolytic enzyme catalyzing the limited hydrolysis of carboxymethylated γ′ chain of globulin was found to be present in the protein bodies. The specific activity in the protein body (18 units per milligram protein) was higher than that in the whole cell extract (13 units per milligram protein), indicating that the limited proteolytic enzyme was localized in the protein body.

After lysis of the protein bodies using hypotonic buffer solution, the suborganellar components (matrix, membranes, and crystalloids) were separated by sucrose density gradient centrifugation. The crystalloid was composed of only globulin, a major seed protein. The major proteins of matrix and membrane fractions were shown to have mol wt of approximately 10,000. About 90% of the limited proteolytic activity was found in the matrix region.

     

Isolation of intact vacuoles and proteomic analysis of tonoplast from suspension-cultured cells of Arabidopsis thaliana

A large number of proteins in the tonoplast, including pumps, carriers, ion channels and receptors support the various functions of the plant vacuole. To date, few proteins involved in these activities have been identified at the molecular level. In this study, proteomic analysis was used to identify new tonoplast proteins. A primary requirement of any organelle analysis by proteomics is that the purity of the isolated organelle needs to be high. Using suspension-cultured Arabidopsis cells (Arabidopsis Col-0 cell suspension), a method was developed for the isolation of intact highly purified vacuoles. No plasma membrane proteins were detected in Western blots of the isolated vacuole fraction, and only a few proteins from the Golgi and endoplasmic reticulum. The proteomic analysis of the purified tonoplast involved fractionation of the proteins by SDS-PAGE and analysis by LC-MS/MS. Using this approach, it was possible to identify 163 proteins. These included well-characterized tonoplast proteins such as V-type H+ -ATPases and V-type H+ -PPases, and others with functions reasonably expected to be related to the tonoplast. There were also a number of proteins for which a function has not yet been deduced.     

Enzymic transfer of α-L-arabinopyranosyl residues to exogenous 1,4-linked β-D-galacto-oligosaccharides using solubilized mung bean (Vigna radiata) hypocotyl microsomes and UDP-β-L-arabinopyranose

A single alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl (alpha-L-Arap) residue was shown, by a combination of chemical and spectroscopic methods, to be transferred to O-4 of the nonreducing terminal galactosyl (Gal) residue of 2-aminobenzamide (2AB)-labeled galacto-oligosaccharides when these oligosaccharides were reacted with UDP-ss-L-arabinopyranose (UDP-ss-L-Arap) in the presence of a Triton X-100-soluble extract of microsomal membranes isolated from mung bean (Vigna radiata, L. Wilezek) hypocotyls. Maximum-(1-->4)-arabinopyranosyltransferase activity was obtained at pH 6.0-6.5 and 20 degrees C in the presence of 25 mM Mn2+. The enzyme had an apparent K m of 45 microM for the 2AB-labeled galactoheptasaccharide and 330 microM for UDP-ss-L-Arap. A series of 2AB-labeled galacto-oligosaccharides with a degree of polymerization (DP) between 6 and 10 that contained a single alpha-L-Arap residue linked to the former nonreducing terminal Gal residue were generated when the 2AB-labeled galactohexasaccharide (Gal6-2AB) was reacted with UDP- ss-L-Ara p in the presence of UDP-beta-D-Galp and the solubilized microsomal fraction. The mono-arabinosylated galacto-oligosaccharides are not acceptor substrates for the galactosyltransferase activities known to be present in mung bean microsomes. These results show that mung bean hypocotyl microsomes contain an enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of Arap to the nonreducing Gal residue of galacto-oligosaccharides and suggest that the presence of a alpha-L-Arap residue on the former terminal Gal residue prevents galactosylation of galacto-oligosaccharides.     

A beta-(1-->3)-arabinopyranosyltransferase that transfers a single arabinopyranose onto arabino-oligosaccharides in mung bean (Vigna radiate) hypocotyls

Arabinopyranosyltransferase (ArapT) activity that results in the transfer of a single arabinopyranose (Arap) residue from UDP-beta-L-arabinopyranose (UDP-Arap) to exogenous (1-->5)-linked alpha-L-arabino-oligosaccharides labeled with 2-aminobenzamide (2-AB) at their reducing ends was identified in a particulate preparation obtained from 3-day-old mung bean (Vigna radiate L. Wilezek) hypocotyls. The transferred Ara residue was shown to be beta-(1-->3)-linked to O-3 of the non-reducing terminal Araf residues of the oligosaccharide using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy together with glycosyl composition and glycosyl linkage composition analyses. The 2AB-labeled arabino-octasaccharide was the most effective acceptor substrate analyzed, although arabino-oligosaccharides with a degree of polymerization between 4 and 7 were also acceptor substrates. Maximum ArapT activity was obtained at pH 6.5-7.0, and 20 degrees C in the presence of 25 mM Mn(2+) and 0.5% Triton X-100.     

Discovery of 1,7-cyclized indoles as a new class of potent and highly selective human beta3-adrenergic receptor agonists with high cell permeability

The synthesis and evaluation of a novel series of 1,7-cyclized indole-based human adrenergic receptor (beta3-AR) agonists are reported. The synthesis of a variety of 1,7-cyclized indole part was accomplished by the Mitsunobu reaction or a ring closing metathesis (RCM) reaction. SAR studies revealed that expansion of the ring size resulted in considerable selectivity against the beta1- and beta2-ARs. Compound 26, an eight-membered ring analogue with a double bond on its 1,7-linker portion, was found to be a potent beta3-AR agonist (EC50 = 0.75 nM, IA = 90%) with extremely high selectivity for the beta3-AR over the beta1- and beta2-ARs.     

Structural determinants for branched-chain aminotransferase isozyme-specific inhibition by the anticonvulsant drug gabapentin

This study presents the first three-dimensional structures of human cytosolic branched-chain aminotransferase (hBCATc) isozyme complexed with the neuroactive drug gabapentin, the hBCATc Michaelis complex with the substrate analog, 4-methylvalerate, and the mitochondrial isozyme (hBCATm) complexed with gabapentin. The branched-chain aminotransferases (BCAT) reversibly catalyze transamination of the essential branched-chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, valine) to alpha-ketoglutarate to form the respective branched-chain alpha-keto acids and glutamate. The cytosolic isozyme is the predominant BCAT found in the nervous system, and only hBCATc is inhibited by gabapentin. Pre-steady state kinetics show that 1.3 mm gabapentin can completely inhibit the binding of leucine to reduced hBCATc, whereas 65.4 mm gabapentin is required to inhibit leucine binding to hBCATm. Structural analysis shows that the bulky gabapentin is enclosed in the active-site cavity by the shift of a flexible loop that enlarges the active-site cavity. The specificity of gabapentin for the cytosolic isozyme is ascribed at least in part to the location of the interdomain loop and the relative orientation between the small and large domain which is different from these relationships in the mitochondrial isozyme. Both isozymes contain a CXXC center and form a disulfide bond under oxidizing conditions. The structure of reduced hBCATc was obtained by soaking the oxidized hBCATc crystals with dithiothreitol. The close similarity in active-site structures between cytosolic enzyme complexes in the oxidized and reduced states is consistent with the small effect of oxidation on pre-steady state kinetics of the hBCATc first half-reaction. However, these kinetic data do not explain the inactivation of hBCATm by oxidation of the CXXC center. The structural data suggest that there is a larger effect of oxidation on the interdomain loop and residues surrounding the CXXC center in hBCATm than in hBCATc.     

Polypyrimidine tract‐binding protein is required for the repression of gene expression by all‐trans retinoic acid

All‐trans retinoic acid is a key regulator of early development. High concentrations of retinoic acid interfere with differentiation and migration of neural crest cells. Here we report that a dinucleotide repeat in the cis‐element of Snail2 (previously known as Slug) gene plays a role in repression by all‐trans retinoic acid. We analyzed the cis‐acting regulatory regions of the Xenopus Snail2 gene, whose expression is repressed by all‐trans retinoic acid. The analysis identified a TG/CA repeat as a necessary element for the repression. By performing a yeast one‐hybrid screen, we found that a polypyrimidine tract‐binding protein (PTB), which is known to be a regulator of the alternative splicing of pre‐messenger RNA, binds to the TG/CA repeat. Overexpression and knockdown experiments for PTB in HEK293 cells and Xenopus embryos indicated that PTB is required for repression by retinoic acid. The green fluorescent protein‐PTB fusion protein was localized in the nucleus of 293T cells. In situ hybridization for PTB in Xenopus embryos showed that PTB is expressed at the regions including neural crest at the early stages. Our results indicate that PTB plays a role in the repression of gene expression by retinoic acid through binding to the TG/CA repeats.