Optimization of antibiotic production by the cyanobacteriumScytonema sp. TISTR 8208 immobilized on polyurethane foam

The cyanobacteriumScytonema sp. TISTR 8208 was cultivated under illumination with a polyurethane foam sheet as the biomass-supporting material. The cyanobacterium produced an antibiotic with a broad spectrum in the post-exponential phase of growth. Modification of the composition of the BGA medium by adding 1.5 g 1^?1 NaNO₃, increasing the Fe₂(SO₄)₃.6H₂O concentration to 0.025 g 1^?1 not adding NaCl, using an initial pH of 7.0, incubated at 35 °C, and at the light intensity of 90 µmol photon m^?2 s^?1, enabled a 28-fold increase in antibiotic production. The antibiotic was stable when treated at 70 °C for 2 h and unstable at 100 °C for 75 min. Since the activity was completely lost with protease treatment and the positive result was shown toward ninhydrin test, and the UV and IR spectrum were characterized at 210 nm and 1547 cm^?1, respectively, this antibiotic appears to be a peptide with aromatic amino acid. Analysis by double-focusing mass spectrometry showed the molecular weight of the antibiotic to be 1490.     

On-line sample extraction and enrichment of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs by pre-column in capillary liquid chromatography mass spectrometry

A rapid and sensitive analytical method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of 16 non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in human plasma by capillary liquid chromatography (LC) and quadrupole mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization operated in the negative ion mode. The sample clean-up and enrichment on a pre-column were accomplished on-line to improve the sensitivity. This method greatly reduced sample preparation time and sample volume compared with off-line sample extraction methods and conventional LC methods, respectively. The recoveries of NSAIDs from human plasma were 56.7-96.9%. The total analytical time for a single analytical run was approximately 15 min. The detection limits of NSAIDs were 0.001-0.075 microg ml(-1) using a selected ion monitoring mode.     

Determination of the affinity constants of recombinant human galectin-1 and -3 for simple saccharides by capillary affinophoresis

The affinity constants of recombinant human galectin-1 and galectin-3 for sugars were determined by capillary affinophoresis. The monoliganded affinophore contains p-aminophenyl-beta-lactoside as an affinity ligand in the matrix of succinylglutathione and has three negative charges. An analysis of the mobility change of the lectins caused by the affinophore and its inhibition by neutral sugars allowed, for the first time, a determination of the affinity constants between the binding sites of the lectins and sugars. The relative magnitude of the affinity constants for each of the sugars in terms of dissociation constants found to be consistent with previously reported data on the concentrations of sugars that caused a 50% inhibition (I50) in the binding assay of the lectin to oligosaccharide-immobilized agarose beads but the absolute values of the dissociation constants were considerably smaller than the I50 values. Capillary affinophoresis indicated microheterogeneity of the lectin preparations and enabled the separate analysis of the affinity of each component simultaneously showing the advantage in using a separation method for analysis of bioaffinity.     

Gurmarin suppression of licking responses to sweetener-quinine mixtures in C57BL mice

Gurmarin (Gur) is a peptide that selectively suppresses responses of the chorda tympani nerve to sweet substances in rats and mice. In the present study, we examined the effect of Gur on behavioral responses to sweet substances in C57BL mice. To accomplish this, we developed a new short-term lick test and measured numbers of licks for 10 s for sweet substances mixed with quinine hydrochloride (QHCl) in water-deprived mice. Numbers of licks for sucrose mixed with 1 or 3 mM QHCl increased with increasing concentration of sucrose from 0.01 to 1.0 M. Oral infusion with 30 micro g/ml Gur produced significant decreases in responses to concentration series for sucrose mixed with 3 mM QHCl, whereas no such effect by Gur was observed in responses to QHCl alone or QHCl-mixed HCl, NaCl or monosodium glutamate. The Gur suppression of QHCl-mixed sucrose responses, which otherwise lasted for 2-3 h, rapidly returned to approximately 80% of control levels after oral infusion with beta-cyclodextrin. These results are comparable to neural data previously found in chorda tympani responses, and thereby provide further evidence for Gur as a sweet response inhibitor in C57BL mice. In the other aspect, our newly developed short-term test can also provide a tool for measurements of taste-guided behavioral responses to sweeteners.     

海水鱼真鲷脂蛋白脂肪酶基因cDNA序列与组织表达

为研究脊椎动物真鲷脂蛋白脂肪酶 (LPL)结构与功能关系以及探讨动脉粥样硬化形成机理 ,通过构建cDNA文库 ,克隆对动脉粥样硬化表现抗性的海水鱼真鲷LPL基因cDNA全序列 .再通过PCR方法扩增基因组DNA ,获取内含子 9及其两侧序列以确定外显子 10的大小 ,最后通过RT PCR ,以 β肌动蛋白为外参照 ,比较真鲷在食用两种脂肪含量不同饲料和摄食状态不同的处理条件下 ,肝脏和腹腔肠系膜脂肪组织LPLmRNA的相对水平 .从腹腔肠系膜脂肪组织cDNA文库中克隆出LPLcDNA序列 ,其完整的开放阅读框架由 15 36bp组成 ,编码 5 11个氨基酸残基 .与哺乳类不同 ,真鲷LPL基因外显子 10的开始部分是翻译的 .LPL的催化位点、二硫键位点、N 糖基化位点、肝素结合区、脂质结合位点、介导脂蛋白与低密度脂蛋白受体结合位点、二聚体形成位点等主要功能域在真骨鱼类真鲷与其它脊椎动物间基本保守 ,但肝素结合区的碱性氨基酸残基含量较人类减少 ,并在结合脂质底物的疏水环套中出现插入片段 .与哺乳类不同 ,真鲷LPL基因在成体肝脏存在诱导性表达 ,而在其腹腔肠系膜脂肪组织则存在与哺乳类相似的组成性表达 .当真鲷喂食高脂饲料时 ,其饱食状态下肝脏LPLmRNA水平升高 ,但对其腹腔肠系膜脂肪组织LPL表达没有影响 .当真鲷喂食标准商业饲料时 ,