Serum steroid levels in intact and endocrine ablated BALB/c nude mice and their intact littermates

An investigation was made of the serum steroid levels found in intact and endocrine ablated nude mice of both sexes and in their intact homozygous littermates. The results showed that nude mice have a normal steroidogenesis, but with decreased levels of circulating steroids compared to those of the littermates. The efficacy of the endocrine ablations was confirmed by the reduction in serum oestrone following oophorectomy, and by the reduction in serum testosterone and progesterone following orchiectomy. The normal steroidogenesis in nude mice, and the similarities between mouse and man with regard to changes in serum steroids following oophorectomy and orchiectomy, support the usefulness of human tumor xenograft models for the study of hormone-tumor interactions.     

Biosynthesis of riboflavin. Enzymatic formation of 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine from pentose phosphates

The xylene ring of riboflavin originates by dismutation of the precursor, 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine. The formation of the latter compound requires a 4-carbon unit as the precursor of carbon atoms 6 alpha, 6, 7, and 7 alpha of the pyrazine ring. The formation of riboflavin from GTP and ribose phosphate by cell extract from Candida guilliermondii has been observed by Logvinenko et al. (Logvinenko, E. M., Shavlovsky, G. M., Zakal'sky, A. E., and Zakhodylo, I. V. (1982) Biokhimiya 47, 931-936). We have studied this enzyme reaction in closer detail using carbohydrate phosphates as substrates and synthetic 5-amino-6-ribitylamino-2,4-(1H,3H)-pyrimidinedione or its 5'-phosphate as cosubstrates. Several pentose phosphates and pentulose phosphates can serve as substrate for the formation of riboflavin with similar efficiency. The reaction requires Mg2+. Various samples of ribulose phosphate labeled with 14C or 13C have been prepared and used as enzyme substrates. Radioactivity was efficiently incorporated into riboflavin from [1-14C]ribulose phosphate, [3,5-14C]ribulose phosphate, and [5-14C]ribulose phosphate, but not from [4-14C]ribulose phosphate. Label from [1-13C]ribose 5-phosphate was incorporated into C6 and C8 alpha of riboflavin. [2,3,5-13C]Ribose 5-phosphate yielded riboflavin containing two contiguously labeled segments of three carbon atoms, namely 5a, 9a, 9 and 8, 7, 7 alpha. 5-Amino-6-[1'-14C] ribitylamino-2,4 (1H,3H)-pyrimidinedione transferred radioactivity exclusively to the ribityl side chain of riboflavin in the enzymatic reaction. It follows that the 4-carbon unit used for the biosynthesis of 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine consists of the pentose carbon atoms 1, 2, 3, and 5 in agreement with earlier in vivo studies.     

Carotid bodies are required for ventilatory acclimatization to chronic hypoxia

We have compared the ventilatory responses of intact and carotid body-denervated (CBD) goats to moderate [partial pressure of O2 in arterial blood; (Pao2) approximately 44 Torr] and severe (Pao2 approximately 33 Torr) many time points for up to 7 days of hypobaria. In the intact group there were significant time-dependent decreases in partial pressure of CO2 in arterial blood (PaCO2) in both moderate and severe hypoxemia (approximately-7 and -11 Torr) that were largely complete by 8 h of hypoxemia and maintained throughout. Acute restoration of normoxia in chronically hypoxic intact animals produced time-dependent increases in Paco2 over 2 h, but hypocapnia persisted relative to sea-level control. Arterial plasma [HCO3-] and [H+] decreased, and [Cl-] increased with a time course and magnitude consistent with developing hypocapnia. Chronic CBD, per se, resulted in a sustained, partially compensated respiratory acidosis, as PaCO2 rose 6 Torr and base excess rose 3 mEq/1, [Cl-] fell 1 mEq/1, and pHa fell 0.01 units. During exposure to identical levels of arterial hypoxemia as in the intact group. CBD animals showed no significant changes in PaCO2, [H+]a, or [HCO3-]a at any time during moderate or severe hypoxemia. Plasma [C1-] remained within the normal range throughout exposure to moderate hypoxia and increased in severe hypoxia. In a few instances some hypocapnia was observed, but this was highly inconsistent and was always less than one-third of that observed in intact goats. In contrast to intact goats, acute restorations of normoxia in the chronically hypoxic CBD goats always caused hyperventilation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Target sizes of human erythrocyte membrane Ca2+-ATPase and Mg2+-ATPase activities in the presence and absence of calmodulin

We have investigated the subunit structure of Ca2+-transport ATPase in human erythrocyte membranes using radiation inactivation analysis. All inactivation data were linear on a semilog plot down to at least 20% of the control activity. We found a target size for the calmodulin-dependent Ca2+-ATPase activity of 331 kDa, consistent with the presence of this enzyme as a dimer in calmodulin-depleted ghosts. Membranes which had been saturated with calmodulin before irradiation yield a a similar size of 317 kDa, implying that activation of Ca2+-transport ATPase by calmodulin does not involve significant change in oligomeric structure. Basal (calmodulin-independent) Ca2+-ATPase activity corresponded to a size of 290 kDa, suggesting that this activity resides in the same, or similar-sized, complex as the calmodulin-dependent activity. Mg2+-ATPase activity, however, was found to reside in a smaller complex of 224 kDa, which proved to be statistically distinct from the target size of Ca2+-ATPase activity. It would appear that Mg2+-ATPase is a distinct entity whose function is likely unrelated to the Ca2+-transport ATPase.     

Structural transitions of chromatin at low salt concentrations: a flow linear dichroism study

We have studied the structure of nuclease-solubilized chromatin from Ehrlich ascites cells by flow linear dichroism (LD) using the anisotropic absorption of the DNA bases and of two intercalated dyes, ethidium bromide and methylene blue. It is confirmed that intercalation occurs preferentially in the linker part of the chromatin fiber, at binding ratios (dye/base) below 0.020. Using this information, we determined the orientation of the linker in relation to the average DNA organization in chromatin. The LD measurements indicate that the conformation of chromatin is considerably changed in the ionic strength interval 0.1-10 mM NaCl: with increasing salt concentration, the LD of the intrinsic DNA base absorption changes signs, from negative to positive, at approximately 2.5 mM NaCl. The LD of the intercalated dyes also changes signs, however, at a somewhat higher salt concentration. The results are analyzed in terms of possible allowed combinations of tilt angles of nucleosomes and pitch or tilt angles of linker DNA sections relative to the fiber axis, at different salt concentrations in the interval 0.1-10 mM NaCl. Two models for the salt-induced structural change of chromatin are discussed.     

Association of the M blood group system with bovine mastitis

Associations of the 11 bovine blood group systems with mastitis were examined in Red Danish dairy cattle. The mastitis status was followed during three lactational periods. A significant effect of the M blood group system on mastitis incidence was observed in the first and second lactation periods and a lower frequency of mastitis is found among animals lacking the M' factor as compared to those having the M' blood group factor. The significance of these results are discussed in view of the close relation between the M blood group system and the bovine lymphocyte antigens (BoLA), and the expected effect of eliminating the M' gene from the breed is estimated. Among the remaining 10 blood group systems, the T' system was the only system showing an overall effect on mastitis, and only in first and third lactation. However, the T' system was inconsistent with regard to the effect of the T' gene on the various mastitis diagnoses.     

Immunocytochemical demonstration of tissue-type plasminogen activator in endocrine cells of the rat pituitary gland

We immunocytochemically stained rat pituitary glands using antibodies against plasminogen activators of the tissue type (t-PA) and the urokinase type (u-PA). A large population of endocrine cells in the anterior lobe of the gland displayed intense cytoplasmic immunoreactivity with anti-t-PA. In some areas of the intermediate lobe we found a weak staining, and we observed weakly staining granular structures in the posterior lobe. Controls included absorption of the antibodies with highly purified t-PA. In addition, SDS PAGE followed by immunoblotting of pituitary gland extracts revealed only one band with an electrophoretic mobility similar to that of t-PA when stained with anti-t-PA IgG. No u-PA immunoreactivity was detected in the rat pituitary gland. Sequential staining experiments using antibodies against growth hormone and t-PA demonstrated that the t-PA-immunoreactive cells constitute a large subpopulation of the growth hormone-containing cells. These findings represent the first direct evidence for the presence of t-PA in cell types other than endothelial cells in the intact normal organism. In this article we discuss the implications of the results for a possible role of t-PA in the posttranslational processing of prohormones.     

Identification and characterization of DNA clones encoding group-II glycinin subunits

Summary DNA clones that encode the group-II subunits of soybean glycinin were identified and compared with clones for group-I subunits. The group-I clones hybridize weakly to those from group-II at low stringency, but fail to hybridize with them at moderate or high stringency. The genes for the group-II subunits are contained in 13 and 9 kb EcoRI fragments of genomic DNA in cultivar CX635-1-1-1. These fragments contain genes for subunits A₅A₄B₃ and A₃B₄, respectively. The larger size of mature group-II subunits compared with group-I subunits is correlated with a larger sized mRNA. However, the gross arrangement of introns and exons within the group-II coding regions appears to be the same as for the genes which encode group-I subunits. Messenger RNA for both groups of glycinin subunits appear in the seed at the same developmental interval, and their appearance lags slightly behind that of mRNAs for the a/a subunits of -conglycinin. These data indicate that the glycinin gene family is more complex than previously thought.Abbreviations bp base pairs - kb kilobase pairs - SDS sodium dodecyl sulfate Cooperative research between USDA/ARS and the Indiana Agric. Expt. Station. This work was supported in part by grants from the USDA Competitive Grants Program and the American Soybean Association Research Foundation. This is Journal Paper No. 10,078 from the Purdue Agricultural Experiment Station