Responses of Avena coleoptiles to suboptimal fusicoccin: kinetics and comparisons with indoleacetic Acid

Proton excretion induced by optimal concentrations of indoleacetic acid (IAA) and fusicoccin (FC) differs not only in maximum rate of acidification but also in the lag before onset of H⁺ excretion and in sensitivity to cycloheximide. Because these differences might simply be a consequence of the difference in rate of proton excretion, FC and IAA have now been compared using oat coleoptiles (cv. Victory) under conditions where the rates of acidification are more similar, i.e. suboptimal FC versus optimal IAA. As the concentration of FC is reduced, the rate of H⁺ excretion decreases, the final equilibrium pH increases, and the lag before detectable acidification increases up to 7-fold. This enhanced lag period is not primarily a consequence of wall buffering, inasmuch as it persists when a low concentration of FC is added to sections which were already excreting H⁺ in response to IAA. An extended lag also occurs, upon reduction of FC levels, in the hyperpolarization of the membrane potential, before enhancement of O₂ uptake and before the increased rate of Rb⁺ uptake. The presence or absence of a lag is not a distinguishing feature between FC and IAA actions on H⁺ excretion and cannot be used to discriminate between their sites of action. In contrast, the insensitivity of FC-induced H⁺ excretion to cycloheximide, as compared with the nearly complete inhibition of this auxin effect by cycloheximide, persists even at dilute concentrations of FC. This seems to be a basic difference in H⁺ excretion by IAA and FC.     

Differential scanning calorimetry of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine analogues and of their interaction products with basic polypeptides

The thermotropic behaviour of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine analogues with a varying number (n) of CH₂ groups between the phosphate and the quaternary ammonium has been investigated. The temperature (T_m) and the enthalphy (ΔH) of the phase transition are non-monotonous functions of the number of CH₂ groups. T_m oscillates between 40 and 45°C and ΔH between 7 and 13 kcal/mol for a variation of n between 2 and 11.It is concluded that the hydrocarbon chains in the head groups do not penetrate the hydrocarbon region and do not contribute directly to the melting of the acyl chains. It is suggested that their length may affect the critical ballance between the attractive and the repulsive forces within the bidimensional lattice of the head groups.Copolypeptides of lysine with phenylalanine do not appreciably affect the T_m but have a pronounced effect on ΔH of the lipid phase transition, which depends strongly on the ratio of the two amino acids in the polypeptide. The effect of copolypeptide of any defined composition on ΔH is also a non-monotonous function of the number of CH₂ groups in the phosphatidylcholine head group, but it does not parallel completely the oscilations in the T_m and ΔH of the pure lipids.     

The synthesis of apoproteins of very low density lipoproteins isolated from the Golgi apparatus of rat liver.

The incorporation of [3H]leucine in vivo into very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) from the rat hepatic Golgi apparatus and serum was studied. A Golgi-rich fraction isolated on a discontinuous sucrose gradient between 0.5 and 1.1 M was found to contain VLDL having common antigenic determinants with serum VLDL. The incorporation of the [3H]leucine into the Golgi VLDL and serum VLDL suggested a precursor-product relationship. Analysis of the apoproteins of the Golgi VLDL by polacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed protein bands with similar mobility to those of serum VLDL, except that the former contained virtually no rapidly migrating peptides with the mobility of serum apo-C-II and apo-C-III. The pattern of incorporation of the [3H]leucine into the apoproteins was similar in VLDL from Golgi apparatus and serum, except for the absence of radioactivity in the area of the gel of Golgi apo-VLDL corresponding to apo-C-II and apo-C-III. The radioactive amino acid was incorporated predominantly into the Golgi apo-VLDL bands with similar mobility to apo-B and an apoprotein or group of apoproteins containing the arginine-rich peptide of serum VLDL. In vitro incubation of the Golgi VLDL with [3H]leucine-labeled HDL resulted in the acquisition of a number of proteins, including the rapidly migrating proteins. Administration of colchicine prior to the injection of [3H]leucine resulted in the appearance of gel bands and radioactivity in the apo-C-II and apo-C-III areas of Golgi apo-VLDL, suggesting that these can be acquired if secretion of VLDL is slowed or inhibited. The hepatic Golgi apparatus was then divided into fractions of predominantly forming face (GF3) or secretory granules (GF1). After polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the apo-VLDL from GF, no visible bands or incorporation of [3H]leucine was found in the region of apo-C-II or apo-C-III. However VLDL from GF1, showed visible and radioactive bands in the apo-C-II and apo-C-III area although they represented a much smaller proportion of the total apoprotein than was found in the corresponding serum apo-VLDL. In the isolated perfused liver the percentage incorporation of [3H]leucine into the rapidly migrating apoproteins of Golgi VLDL was considerably less than that found in the corresponding apoproteins of perfusate VLDL, where circulating C lipoproteins are virtually absent. The data indicate that nascent VLDL begins to acquire the C-II and C-III apoproteins during its passage through the Golgi apparatus but that the main acquisition occurs during or after secretion into the space of Disse.     

Control of normal differentiation of myeloid leukemic cells. X. Glucose utilization,cellular ATP and associated membrane changes in D+ and D− cells

Glucose utilization, energy metabolism and associated membrane changes, have been studied in D⁺ myeloid leukemic cells that can be induced to undergo cell differentiation to mature granulocytes by incubation with the appropriate conditioned medium (CM) and in D^? myeloid leukemic cells that cannot be induced to differentiate to mature cells. Before incubation with CM, glycolysis and the glycolytic production of ATP were lower and the activity of the pentose cycle was higher in D⁺ than in D^? cells. ATP depletion induced a higher degree of agglutination by concanavalin A in D^? than in D⁺ cells, indicating a difference in their surface membrane. There were no detectable differences in the transport of glucose and the synthesis of sterols and fatty acids. After incubation with CM, the D⁺ cells, like normal granulocytes, showed a higher glycolysis, produced their ATP more through glycolysis than oxidative phosphorylation, became less dependent on the exogenous supply of glucose and oxygen and had a lower rate of sterol and fatty acid synthesis. The differentiating D⁺ cells also showed a change in their surface membrane resulting in an increased agglutinability without a change in ATP content and a stimulation of the pentose cycle by concanavalin A. These properties, which were not acquired by D^? cells, were found before most of the D⁺ cells had differentiated to mature granulocytes. The data indicate, that the block in the ability of the D^? cells to differentiate and the acquisition of the metabolic properties of normal granulocytes by differentiating D⁺ cells, were associated with differences in the organization of the cell surface membrane.     

Synthesis of myosin heavy and light chains in muscle cultures

The weight ratio of myosin/actin, the myosin heavy chain content as the percentage of total protein (wt/wt), and the kinds of myosin light chains were determined in (a) standard muscle cultures, (b) pure myotube cultures, and (c) fibroblast cultures. Cells for these cultures were obtained from the breast of 11-day chick embryos. Standard cultures contain, in addition to myotubes, large numbers of replicating mononucleated cells. By killing these replicating cells with cytosine arabinoside, pure myotube cultures were obtained. The myosin/actin ratio (wt/wt) for pure myotube, standard muscle, and fibroblast cultures average 3.1, 1.9, and 1.1 respectively. By day 7, myosin in myotube cultures represents a minimum of 7% of the total protein, but about 3% in standard cultures and less than 1.5% in fibroblasts cultures. Myosin from standard cultures contains light chain LC1, LC2, and LC3, with a relative stoichiometry of the molarity of 1.0:1.9:0.5 and mol wt of 25,000, 18,000 and 16,000 daltons, identical to those in adult fast muscle. Myosin from pure myotubes exhibits light chains LC1 and LC2, with a molar ratio of 1.5:1.6. Myosin from fibroblast cultures possesses two light chains with a stoichiometry of 1.8:1.8 and mol wt of 20,000 and 16,000 daltons. Clearly, the faster migrating light chain, LC3, found in standard cultures is synthesized not by the myotubes but ty the mononucleated cells. In myotubes, both the assembly of the sarcomeres and the interaction between thick and thin filaments required for spontaneous contraction occur in the absence of light chain LC3. One set of structural genes for the myosin light and heavy chains appears to be active in mononucleated cells, whereas another set appears to be active in multinucleated myotubes.     

Luminescence properties of the Ln–EDTA complexes covalently linked to the chitosan biopolymers containing β‐diketonate as antenna ligands

This paper reports on the preparation, characterization, and photoluminescence properties of novel hybrid materials, in which the EDTA–Ln–L complexes (where L: H₂O, acac, bzac, dbm, and tta ligands, and Ln: Eu, Gd, and Tb) were covalently linked to the precursor medium molecular weight chitosan surface (CS) matrices or on the chitosan surfaces previously crosslinked with epichlorohydrin (CSech). The emission spectra of these materials were characterized by intraconfigurational‐4fN transitions centred on the Eu³⁺ and Tb³⁺ ions. Some broad bands from the polymeric matrix were also observed in the emission spectra, however the relative intensities of the intraconfigurational bands increased significantly for systems containing diketonate ligands when the antenna effect became more efficient. The values of the radiative rates (A_rad) were higher for crosslinked hybrid systems with epichlorohydrin, while nonradiative rates (A_nrad) presented the opposite behaviour. These data contributed to an increase in the values of emission quantum efficiency (η) for crosslinked materials. The effect of the modification process and antenna ligand on the values of intensities, intensity parameters Ω₂ e Ω₄ of the Eu³⁺ complexes were also investigated. The results showed that the crosslinked biopolymer surfaces have great potential for applications in molecular devices light converters.