Involvement of the Lipopolysaccharides of Azospirilla in the Interaction with Wheat Seedling Roots

The present study was undertaken to comparatively investigate the attachment capacities of Azospirillum brasilenseSp245 and its lipopolysaccharide-defective Omegon-Km mutants KM018 and KM252, as well as their activities with respect to the alteration of the morphology of wheat seedling root hairs. The adsorption dynamics of the parent Sp245 and mutant KM252 strains of azospirilla on the seedling roots of the soft spring wheat cv. Saratovskaya 29 were similar; however, the attachment capacity of the mutant KM252 was lower than that of the parent strain throughout the incubation period (15 min to 48 h). The mutation led to a considerable decrease in the hydrophobicity of the Azospirillumcell surface. The lipopolysaccharides extracted from the outer membrane of A. brasilenseSp245 and mutant cells with hot phenol and purified by chromatographic methods were found to induce the deformation of the wheat seedling root hairs, the lipopolysaccharide of the parent strain being the most active in this respect. The role of the carbohydrate moiety of lipopolysaccharides in the interaction of Azospirillumcells with plants is discussed.     

Physical work capacity of athletes with different types of adaptation of the cardiorespiratory system

Indices of physical work capacity in athletes with different types of adaptation of the cardiorespiratory system that are engaged in various kinds of sports and have sports ranks from Master of Sports to Grade 2 have been studied. It has been shown that the highest physical work capacity is typical of athletes that have the inotropic type of adaptation, and the lowest, of athletes with the chronotropic type of adaptation. High indices of physical work capacity were recorded in athletes with the respiratory type of adaptation. Types of adaptation affect the indices of physical work capacity, and it is possible to forecast sports results on their basis.     

Ectopic expression of an osmotin gene leads to enhanced salt tolerance in transgenic chilli pepper (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Capsicum annum</Emphasis> L.)

Plants, when exposed to abiotic or biotic stress, produce several pathogenesis-related proteins to counteract the effects of stress. Osmotin is one of the important pathogenesis-related proteins induced during several stress conditions. We have developed improved salt stress tolerant transgenic chilli pepper plants (Capsicum annum L. var. Aiswarya 2103) by ectopic expression of the Nicotiana tabaccum osmotin gene using Agrobacterium tumefaciens EHA105 as a vector. Four-week-old chilli pepper leaves were used as an explant and A. tumefaciens EHA105 harboring pBINASCOSM plasmid that contains osmotin gene under the control of CaMV 35S promoter and npt II as a selectable marker was used in co-cultivation. Transgene integration and expression were analyzed using molecular, immunochemical, and biochemical assays. PCR and Southern blot analysis confirmed that osmotin gene has been successfully integrated into the genome of chilli pepper plants. The osmotin gene was stably segregated and expressed in T₂ generation transgenic chilli pepper plants, and it was confirmed by Western blot analysis. Biochemical assays of these putative transgenic plants revealed enhanced levels of chlorophyll, proline, glycinebetaine, APX, SOD, DHAR, MDHAR, GR, and relative water content. Yield potential of the putative transgenic chilli pepper plants was evaluated under salinity stress conditions in a green house. The putative transgenic chilli pepper plants overexpressing the osmotin gene were morphologically similar to wild-type plants and produced 3.32 kg chilli pepper fruits per plant at 300 mM NaCl concentration.     

A sticky situation: CCN1 promotes both proliferation and apoptosis of cancer cells

Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF/CCN2) is overexpressed in diabetes. Diabetic rats possess myocardial and cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. In a recent report, Wang and colleagues (Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2009 Jul 22. [Epub ahead of print]) show that CCN2 directly mediates cardiomyocyte hypertrophy as well as that induced by high glucose and fatty acid. CCN2 acted via the TrkA receptor. These data are the subject of this commentary, and emphasize that CCN2 may be an excellent target for therapy in diabetes.     

Effect of desglycine-arginine vasopressin on the excitability of the command neurons of the defensive reflex in the edible snail

Perfusion of the snail (Helix lucorum L.) CNS with DG-AVP (concentration 10(-6) M) in the course of low frequency intracellular stimulation (2-4-minute interval) of the defensive reflex command neurons led to an increase in the excitability. It was expressed both in the reduction of the spike generation latency, in the increased number of spikes in response to fixed stimuli, and in the activation of pacemaker potentials. If DG-AVP was added to the medium during endoneuronal habituation, there was no increase in the excitability. It is supposed that modification of the neuronal excitability may be caused by the DG-AVP effect on the pacemaker mechanism.     

Relation of mechanical noise in the rat papillary muscle to the level of its contraction

The existence of mechanical noise (MN) has been demonstrated in isolated papillary muscles of rats at rest. The mean amplitude of the MN was about 1 mg, the mean frequency 1.5 Hz (t 22 degrees C). A good agreement was found between the MN amplitude and the contracture level of the muscle. However, during long contractures, the correlation between the noise and contracture magnitude was disturbed. There was no relationship between the MN amplitude and contracture magnitude during exposures inducing metabolic alterations (hypoxia, NaCN) and upsetting the work of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (caffeine). It is believed that the MN amplitude is in a good agreement with the contracture magnitude and, therefore, with the concentration of intracellular Ca2+, if the sarcoplasmic reticulum and contractile elements of the cells are intact.     

The effect of acetaldehyde on gluconeogenesis from xylitol, sorbitol, and fructose by isolated rat liver cells.

In isolated rat liver cells, ethanol inhibited gluconeogenesis from xylitol and sorbitol but not from fructose. Acetaldehyde, at initial concentrations of 0.2, 0.5, and 1.0 mm, stimulated gluconeogenesis from xylitol and sorbitol in the absence of pyrazole but inhibited in the presence of pyrazole. There was no effect with fructose. Acetate had no effect. Methylene blue and pyruvate (but not lactate) prevented the stimulatory as well as the inhibitory effects of acetaldehyde. Acetoacetate (but not β3-hydroxybutyrate) prevented, to a large extent, the inhibitory effects of low (but not high) concentrations of acetaldehyde. The inhibition by low concentrations of acetaldehyde appears to be mediated via acetaldehyde oxidation in the mitochondria, whereas the inhibition by high concentrations of acetaldehyde appears to reflect acetaldehyde oxidation in the cytosol. These data indicate that the inhibitory action of ethanol on glucose production from xylitol and sorbitol can be reproduced by physiological concentrations of acetaldehyde. Changes in the $\text{NAD}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{NADH}$ ratio produced during acetaldehyde metabolism appear to be responsible for these effects of acetaldehyde. These changes may contribute to the actions of ethanol on gluconeogenesis from these substrates.     

Autoantibody to vasoactive intestinal peptide in human circulation

In a radioassay for Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide (VIP)-binding, eight out of 33 plasma samples from healthy human subjects exhibited specific binding ranging from 2.6% to 46.7% of total [125 I]VIP. This binding was competitively displaced by unlabeled VIP. The structurally homologous peptides, Peptide Histidine Isoleucine (PHI) and secretin, were, respectively, 72-fold and 413-fold less potent than VIP in displacing bound [125 I]VIP, whereas the unrelated peptides, neurotensin, eledoisin, bombesin and metenkephalin, were without effect on the binding. The antibody nature of the VIP-binding factor was suggested by its precipitation with ammonium sulfate, attenuation after absorption with Staphylococcus aureus preparations, precipitation with antisera against human IgG and IgM, and coelution with standard IgG and IgM on anion-exchange and high-performance gel-filtration columns. Pepsin treatment of purified IgG fraction yielded a VIP-binding species with apparent molecular weight of 108 +/- 13 kDa that was precipitated by antiserum against the F(ab)2 fragment of the IgG molecule. These results demonstrate the existence in some human plasmas of an autoantibody that binds VIP.