Replication of Herpes-Type Virus in a Burkitt Lymphoma Cell Line

Replication of the herpes-type virus in the P3HR-1 Burkitt lymphoma cell line was studied. The cell cultures with 10(6) viable cells/ml were incubated at 33 C for 15 days. The amount of virus in both the cell and fluid portions of the cultures was determined by the loop-drop particle-counting procedure with electron microscopy. An apparent growth curve of the virus was constructed. The maximal cell-associated virus, 10(10) virus particles in an 80-ml culture, was observed after 9 days of incubation. The maximal extracellular virus, 2.5 x 10(9) particles per culture, was observed at the 12th day. About 10% of the released virus particles were enveloped. Under these conditions, there was little or no cell multiplication, but the percentage of immunofluorescent cells reactive to a selected human serum (probably indicating the presence of virus in the cells) increased to a maximum of 50% at the 9th day.     

Treatment of Obesity by Personality Classification-Oriented Program

It is apparent that personality is related to the pathogenesis of obesity, and that understanding the personality of the patient may be a key to successful treatment of the disease. Using the Rorschach test and interviews by a psychiatrist, the types of personality were classified into four groups according to the healthiness of personalities. The judgment of healthiness was based mainly on the scores obtained from the Rorschach test This classification revealed that the occurrence of mental and physical symptoms during therapy with a very low calorie diet(VLCD)and subsequent rebound of body weight were more frequently observed in patients with relatively less healthy personalities. We used this classification to adapt our pro gram to treat obese patients. In this program, severe diet restrictions were applied to patients with relatively healthy personalities. These restrictions were applied with modifications to patients with less healthy personality, because severe restrictions would be possibly very stressful for them and would bring about an undesirable reaction. For strengthening the patients' motivation for therapy, the significance of body weight reduction was explained in different ways to patients with different types of personality. The target of body weight reduction, reward for patients with successful weight reduction, and the duration of therapy were setup differently for patients with different personalities types. The results showed that body weight rebound one or two years after treatment was reduced with the personality-oriented therapy pro gram compared to that observed with the previous conventional therapies. Also, the incidence of psychological problems was remarkably decreased.     

Efficient production of aculeacin A acylase in recombinant Streptomyces strains

The productivities of aculeacin A acylase in various recombinant Streptomyces strains were examined. When the acylase gene was introduced into six species (S. lividans, S. albus, S. ambofaciens, S. parvulus, S. griseus and S. avermitilis) using Streptomyces multi-copy vector pIJ702, all strains produced the acylase extracellularly. The recombinant S. Griseus was the most efficient producer of the enzyme, producing 25-fold more than the original producer, Actinoplanes utahensis. On the other hand, the recombinant strains of S. lividans and S. avermitilis showed almost the same productivity as A. utahensis. The purified recombinant acylases from four strains, S. albus, S. ambofaciens, S. parvulus and S. griseus, were composed of two subunits; however, the molecular mass values of their small subunits were higher than that of the original acylase. Further, immunoblot analysis showed that the presumed precursor peptide and its degradation products were also detected in the low-producing strains, A. utahensis and S. avermitilis. These findings indicate that the productivity of the acylase was affected by proteolytic activity in the host strains. Correspondence to: S. mura     

Scintigraphic detection of xenografted tumors producing human basic fibroblast growth factor

A murine monoclonal antibody 3H3 recognizes the basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and inhibits the growth of human glioblastoma cells both in vitro and in vivo. We studied the potential of a scintigraphic technique using the 3H3 antibody to detect tumors that produce basic FGF.¹²⁵I- and¹¹¹In-labeled 3H3 bound to U87MG human glioblastoma cells in vitro. U87MG cells were inoculated subcutaneously into nude mice. After development of the tumor, radiolabeled 3H3 was injected into the subcutaneous space surrounding the tumor. A high level of radioactivity from 3H3 was retained at the tumor, whereas an irrelevant antibody cleared rapidly from the injected site. Radiolabeled 3H3 was not retained in tumors that did not produce basic FGF. Scintigraphic detection of tumors expressing basic FGF would be valuable for the therapeutic application of the antibody.     

Plant cyclins: a unified nomenclature for plant A-, B- and D-type cyclins based on sequence organization

The comparative analysis of a large number of plant cyclins of the A/B family has recently revealed that plants possess two distinct B-type groups and three distinct A-type groups of cyclins [1]. Despite earlier uncertainties, this large-scale comparative analysis has allowed an unequivocal definition of plant cyclins into either A or B classes. We present here the most important results obtained in this study, and extend them to the case of plant D-type cyclins, in which three groups are identified. For each of the plant cyclin groups, consensus sequences have been established and a new, rational, plant-wide naming system is proposed in accordance with the guidelines of the Commission on Plant Gene Nomenclature. This nomenclature is based on the animal system indicating cyclin classes by an upper-case roman letter, and distinct groups within these classes by an arabic numeral suffix. The naming of plant cyclin classes is chosen to indicate homology to their closest animal class. The revised nomenclature of all described plant cyclins is presented, with their classification into groups CycA1, CycA2, CycA3, CycB1, CycB2, CycD1, CycD2 and CycD3.     

Stand dynamics during a 12-year period in a second-growth stand in a cool temperature forest in northern Japan

In 1981 and 1993, trees over 2 m high were measured and mapped to clarify stand dynamics in two permanent plots of 0.1 ha in a secondary, cool temperate, mixed broadleaf/conifer forest after logging in the Tomakomai Experiment Forest, central Hokkaido, northern Japan. The species could be placed in two groups according to the change in basal area and density, and annual height growth:Quercus mongolica var.grosseserrata, Phellodendron amurense, Prunus sargentii andTilia japonica (Group I: GI) showed episodic regeneration and/or fast height growth;Acer mono, Acer palmatum var.matsumuae andSorbus alnifolia (Group II: GII) showed continuous regeneration and/or slow height growth. The age distribution of stems over 10 cm in d.b.h. suggests synchronous regeneration of GI and GII species. Vertical stratification was promoted during the 12-year period by the difference in annual height growth between the two species groups. Additional tree censuses in both remnant old-growth stands and second-growth stands after large scale blowdowns demonstrated thatQ. mongolica var.grosseserrata is most dominant in stands varying in the stages of development. Disturbance history and successional trends in dominant species implied that stand-devastating disturbances were responsible for the regeneration ofQ. mongolica var.grosseserrata in the study forest.