Construction of BAC libraries derived from the ascidian Ciona intestinalis

Large insert genomic bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) libraries were constructed from a basal chordate, the ascidian Ciona intestinalis. Insert analyses of randomly selected clones indicated that in the first library the mean insert size was 135 kb and predicted a 15-fold coverage of the Ciona genome, and in the second library the mean insert size was 165 kb and predicted a 5-fold coverage of the genome. These first large insert genomic libraries of the ascidian should increase the speed of genomic analyses of basal chordates.     

CD44 suppresses TLR-mediated inflammation

The cell adhesion molecule CD44, which is the major hyaluronan receptor, has been implicated in the binding, endocytosis, and metabolism of hyaluronan. Previous studies have revealed that CD44 plays crucial roles in a variety of inflammatory diseases. In recent years, TLRs, which are ancient microbial pattern recognition receptors, have been shown to initiate an innate immune response and have been linked to a variety of inflammatory diseases. The present study shows that CD44 negatively regulates in vivo inflammation mediated by TLRs via NF-kappaB activation, which leads to proinflammatory cytokine production. Furthermore, our results show that CD44 directly associates with TLR2 when stimulated by the TLR2 ligand zymosan and that the cytoplasmic domain of CD44 is crucial for its regulatory effect on TLR signaling. This study indicates that CD44 plays a protective role in TLR-mediated inflammation and is the first to demonstrate a direct association between CD44 and a TLR.     

Biochemical studies on strain differences of mice in the susceptibility to nitrogen dioxide

Strain differences of mice in their susceptibility to nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) were examined by measuring the activities of antioxidative protective enzymes, and the amounts of antioxidants and lipid peroxides in lungs. Four strains of mice: ICR, BALB/c, ddy and C57BL/6 were used in this study and their LC₅₀ values after exposure to NO₂ for 16 hr were: 38, 49, 51 and 64 ppm, respectively (1).Genetic strain differences were observed in the enzyme activities, the antioxidant contents and lipid peroxide contents among these four different strains. The activities of glutathione peroxidase (GP_x), glutathione S-transferase, and superoxide dismutase (SOD), and the contents of non-protein sulfhydryls (NPSH), α-tocopherol (α-Toc) and total lipids in lungs of the four strains were related to their LC₅₀, while TBA reactants in lungs of the four strains were inversely related to their LC₅₀.After exposure to 20 ppm NO₂ for 16 hr, the activities of the protective enzymes and the contents of NPSH decreased, while the level of α-Toc increased markedly. The activities of GP_x, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, SOD and disulfide reductase, and the contents of NPSH, α-Toc and total lipids were also related to their LC₅₀. On the other hand, TBA reactants increased higher than those of the control groups and were inversely related to their LC₅₀.These results suggest that the protective enzymes and the antioxidants are important factors as defence mechanism in lungs to NO₂ and that the intensity of the protective systems in pigmented strains is generally greater than that in albino strains.     

Effects of recombinant human macrophage colony-stimulating factor on atherosclerotic lesions established in the aorta of high cholesterol-fed rabbits

Anti-atherosclerotic effects of human macrophage colony-stimulating factor were investigated using rabbits fed a high cholesterol diet. Rabbits fed a diet containing 2% cholesterol for 59 days developed hyperlipidemia and atheromatous aortic plaques. They were then administered 80 microg/kg/day of either macrophage colony-stimulating factor or human serum albumin, as a control, for the next 12 weeks. Compared with the control group, rabbits treated with macrophage colony-stimulating factor had significantly fewer plaques on the inner surface of the thoracic and abdominal aortae, and half the sectional area of thickened intima in the aortic arch, as well as in the thoracic and abdominal aortae. Macrophage colony-stimulating factor also decreased the cholesterol content of the atherosclerotic lesions. Serobiochemical analyses revealed that macrophage colony-stimulating factor increased the levels of high density lipoprotein-cholesterol significantly, without influencing other lipid parameters such as the level of low density lipoproteins. The effects of macrophage colony-stimulating factor were evident until the fourth week of drug injection, at which time anti-human macrophage colony-stimulating factor antibodies were clearly induced in the serum. These results indicate that exogenously administered macrophage colony-stimulating factor suppresses atherosclerotic lesions induced by a high cholesterol diet by activating lipid metabolism in vivo.     

Two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) systems for N1,N8-diacetylspermidine and N1,N12-diacetylspermine using monoclonal antibodies

We obtained monoclonal antibodies against N(1),N(12)-diacetylspermine (DiAcSpm) and N(1),N(8)-diacetylspermidine (DiAcSpd), and developed two systems of competitive ELISA that utilize the antibodies and a common enzyme-labeled antigen to measure these di-acetylpolyamines. Cross-reactions with N(1)-acetylspermidine in the assay of DiAcSpm and with N8-acetylspermidine in the assay of DiAcSpd were as low as 0.26 and 0.6%, respectively, and were judged to be insignificant in clinical use for measuring urinary diacetylpolyamines. These assays were used to assess diurnal variations in diacetylpolyamine excretion in urine to show that the excretion of diacetylpolyamines after normalization for the concentration of creatinine is stable over a day with only minimal diurnal variation.     

Three-dimensional solution structure of an archaeal FKBP with a dual function of peptidyl prolyl cis-trans isomerase and chaperone-like activities

Here we report the solution structure of an archaeal FK506-binding protein (FKBP) from a thermophilic archaeum, Methanococcus thermolithotrophicus (MtFKBP17), which has peptidyl prolyl cis-trans isomerase (PPIase) and chaperone-like activities, to reveal the structural basis for the dual function. In addition to a typical PPIase domain, a newly identified domain is formed in the flap loop by a 48-residue insert that is required for the chaperone-like activity. The new domain, called IF domain (the Insert in the Flap), is a novel-folding motif and exposes a hydrophobic surface, which we consider to play an important role in the chaperone-like activity.     

Increased tolerance to salt stress in the phosphate-accumulating <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis</Emphasis> mutants <Emphasis Type="Italic">siz1</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">pho2</Emphasis>

High salinity is an environmental factor that inhibits plant growth and development, leading to large losses in crop yields. We report here that mutations in SIZ1 or PHO2, which cause more accumulation of phosphate compared with the wild type, enhance tolerance to salt stress. The siz1 and pho2 mutations reduce the uptake and accumulation of Na⁺. These mutations are also able to suppress the Na⁺ hypersensitivity of the sos3-1 mutant, and genetic analyses suggest that SIZ1 and SOS3 or PHO2 and SOS3 have an additive effect on the response to salt stress. Furthermore, the siz1 mutation cannot suppress the Li⁺ hypersensitivity of the sos3-1 mutant. These results indicate that the phosphate-accumulating mutants siz1 and pho2 reduce the uptake and accumulation of Na⁺, leading to enhanced salt tolerance, and that, genetically, SIZ1 and PHO2 are likely independent of SOS3-dependent salt signaling.