Attachment of blastocysts to lens capsule: A model system for trophoblast-epithelial cell interaction on a natural basement membrane

Summary The bovine lens capsule has previously been shown to provide an optimal surface for the examination of epithelial cell interaction with a basement membrane. This native substrate has been used to investigate some initial aspects of attachment of mouse blastocysts and trophoblastic cellular outgrowth. Mouse blastocysts were presented to the cell-free humoral side of the anterior lens capsule, incubated for 72 h, and examined by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Blastocysts hatch and attach from their zonae pellucidae by 30 h. Trophoblastic cells proliferate rapidly in a coronal direction, display extensive surface microvilli, and advance by the extension of numerous filipodia, many of which terminate with bulbous projections. These projections were shown by transmission electron microscopy to contain numerous vacuoles and polysomes. To simulate further the initial blastocyst-uterine interaction, a suspension of lens epithelial cells was introduced to the capsule and permitted to form a monolayer prior to the addition of the blastocysts. At 72 h the monolayer of lens cells remained intact. We observed that: a) lens cells appear to recede from the advancing trophoblastic cells, and b) trophoblastic cells extend beneath the monolayer of lens cells and thereby dislodge the cells from the lens capsule substrate. No infiltration of the capsule by the advancing trophoblastic cells was observed. The lens capsule appears to offer a promising system for the study of trophoblast-epithelial cell interaction on a natural basement membrane.     

EPR properties of mixed-valent μ-oxo and μ-hydroxo dinuclear iron complexes produced by radiolytic reduction at 77 K

 Radiolytic reduction at 77 K of oxo-/hydroxo-bridged dinuclear iron(III) complexes in frozen solutions forms kinetically stabilized, mixed-valent species in high yields that model the mixed-valent sites of non-heme, diiron proteins. The mixed-valent species trapped at 77 K retain ligation geometry similar to the initial diferric clusters. The shapes of the mixed-valent EPR signals depend strongly on the bridging ligands. Spectra of the Fe(II)OFe(III) species reveal an S=1/2 ground state with small g-anisotropy as characterized by the uniaxial component (g _z –g _av /2<0.03) observable at temperatures as high as ∼100 K. In contrast, hydroxo-bridged mixed-valent species are characterized by large g-anisotropy (g _z –g _av /2>0.03) and are observable only below 30 K. Annealing at higher temperatures causes structural relaxation and changes in the EPR characteristics. EPR spectral properties allow the oxo- and hydroxo-bridged, mixed-valent diiron centers to be distinguished from each other and can help characterize the structure of mixed-valent centers in proteins. Received: 27 June 1998 / Accepted: 25 February 1999     

The RAD6 DNA repair pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: What does it do,and how does it do it?

The RAD6 pathway of budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is responsible for a substantial fraction of this organism's resistance to DNA damage, and also for induced mutagenesis. The pathway appears to incorporate two different recovery processes, both regulated by RAD6. The error-prone recovery prcess accounts for only a small amount of RAD6-dependent resistance, but probably all induced mutagenesis. The underlying mechanism, for error-prone recovery is very likely to be translesion synthesis. The error-free recovery process accounts for most of RAD6-dependent resistace, but its mechanism is less clear; it may entail error-free bypass by template switching and/or DNA gap filling by recombination. RAD6 regulates these activities by ubiquitinateins, and the roles they play in error-free and error-prone recovery, have not yet been established.     

The isolation and characterization of an alkylating-agent-sensitive yeast mutant, ngs1

We have isolated and characterized a mutant of baker's yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, carrying the new mutation, ngs1, which is sensitive to the toxic effects of monofunctional alkylating agents, but normal with respect to 254-nm ultraviolet light sensitivity. ngs1 mutants exhibited more or less normal reversion frequencies for his1-7 and ilv1-92 induced by each of these mutagens. The various sensitivities associated with ngs1 cosegregated and have been shown to be the result of a lesion in a single nuclear gene. Extracts of ngs1 and NGS1+ strains contained approximately equal levels of an activity that removes 3-methyladenine (3MA) and 7-methylguanine (7MG) from DNA in vitro. The mutation also depressed sporulation.     

CLIX: a search algorithm for finding novel ligands capable of binding proteins of known three-dimensional structure.

A computer algorithm, CLIX, capable of searching a crystallographic data-base of small molecules for candidates which have both steric and chemical likelihood of binding a protein of known three-dimensional structure is presented. The algorithm is a significant advance over previous strategies which consider solely steric or chemical requirements for binding. The algorithm is shown to be capable of predicting the correct binding geometry of sialic acid to a mutant influenza-virus hemagglutinin and of proposing a number of potential new ligands to this protein.