In vitro linoleic acid activation of protein kinase C

The importance of membrane fluidity in the activation of protein kinase C (PKC) was examined using the membrane fluidizer, linoleic acid, in a well-defined model membrane system. Biochemical and biophysical properties of the system were monitored. Linoleic acid activated PKC to a level of 50% of that observed for diacylglycerol. In contrast, linoleic acid did not directly interact with the phorbol ester binding site as did diacylglycerol. This was determined by the lack of involvement of the ionizable group of the fatty acid with activity and the enhancement of phorbol ester binding by linoleic acid and its ester analogs. The membrane fluidity of this model membrane system in the presence of linoleic acid was increased as determined by fluorescence polarization. This increased the availability of phospholipids, thus, explaining the linoleic acid-induced enhancement of phorbol ester binding. The PKC conformation as determined from intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence spectra was different for lipid mixtures containing linoleic acid or diacylglycerol correlating with the difference in biochemical activation properties. This study provides evidence that membrane fluidization is not the predominant function of the lipid activator in PKC activation, but may play a role in obtaining the preferred membrane state for maximal activation.     

Possible Roles of Free Radicals in Alcoholic Tissue Damage

Hepatic microsornes metabolize ethanol to a free radical metabolite which forms adducts with the spin trapping agents PBN (phenyl-N-t-butylnitrone) and DMPO (5,5-dimethyl-l-pyrroline N-oxide). This ethanol radical has been identified as the I-hydroxyethyl radical through the use of ¹³C-labelled ethanol. A role of the cytochrome P-450 enzymes in the generation of the I-hydroxyethyl radical was suggested by requirements for oxygen and NADPH. as well as inhibition in the presence of SKF 525-A and imidazole. In contrast. the ESR signal intensity of the I-hydroxyethyl radical was diminished when either catalase. or the iron chelating agent deferoxdmine. was added to the microsomal incubations, and was increased by the addition of ADP-Fe. These observations suggest that the ethanol radicals may arise secondary to iron-catalyzed formation of hydroxyl radicals from hydrogen peroxide. This possibility was supported by enhanced rates of I-hydroxyethyl radical formation when microsomal catalase activity was inhibited by the addition of sodium azide, or by pretreatment of rats with aminotriazole. However, the reaction was relatively insensitive to scavengers of the hydroxyl radical. Thus, the mechanism of I-hydroxycthyl radical formation could involve two cytochrome P-450-dependent pathways: generation of hydrogen peroxide required for a Fenton reaction, as well as direct catalytic formation of the ethanol radical.     

X chromosome restriction fragment length polymorphisms in five racial groups: rare variant detected with the RC8 (DXS9) probe in the Marathi population, India

Restriction fragment length polymorphisms were investigated in five racial groups using the X chromosome probes DXS9 and DXS7. The allele frequencies of these polymorphisms showed significant differences and both DNA fragments were found to be highly polymorphic in the populations of south and southeast Asia. In the Marathi population of India, a rare allele B*3 (3 kilobases; kb) and an altered 7-kb fragment instead of the 6.6-kb constant band were found with DXS9. This is the first time that the rare B*3 allele is found in a non-European population.     

New Views of Multi-Ion Channels

The rate constants of acetylcholine receptor channels (AChR) desensitization and recovery were estimated from the durations and frequencies of clusters of single-channel currents. Diliganded-open AChR desensitize much faster than either unliganded- or diliganded-closed AChR, which indicates that the desensitization rate constant depends on the status of the activation gate rather than the occupancy of the transmitter binding sites. The desensitization rate constant does not change with the nature of the agonist, the membrane potential, the species of permeant cation, channel block by ACh, the subunit composition (ε or γ), or several mutations that are near the transmitter binding sites. The results are discussed in terms of cyclic models of AChR activation, desensitization, and recovery. In particular, a mechanism by which activation and desensitization are mediated by two distinct, but interrelated, gates in the ion permeation pathway is proposed.     

Dual Effects of Anandamide on NMDA Receptor-Mediated Responses and Neurotransmission

Abstract: Anandamide is an endogenous ligand of cannabinoid receptors that induces pharmacological responses in animals similar to those of cannabinoids such as Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Typical pharmacological effects of cannabinoids include disruption of pain, memory formation, and motor coordination, systems that all depend on NMDA receptor mediated neurotransmission. We investigated whether anandamide can influence NMDA receptor activity by examining NMDA-induced calcium flux (ΔCa²⁺_NMDA) in rat brain slices. The presence of anandamide reduced ΔCa²⁺_NMDA and the inhibition was disrupted by cannabinoid receptor antagonist, pertussis toxin treatment, and agatoxin (a calcium channel inhibitor). Whereas these treatments prevented anandamide inhibiting ΔCa²⁺_NMDA, they also revealed another, underlying mechanism by which anandamide influences ΔCa²⁺_NMDA. In the presence of cannabinoid receptor antagonist, anandamide potentiated ΔCa²⁺_NMDA in cortical, cerebellar, and hippocampal slices. Anandamide (but not THC) also augmented NMDA-stimulated currents in Xenopus oocytes expressing cloned NMDA receptors, suggesting a capacity to directly modulate NMDA receptor activity. In a similar manner, anandamide enhanced neurotransmission across NMDA receptor-dependent synapses in hippocampus in a manner that was not mimicked by THC and was unaffected by cannabinoid receptor antagonist. These data demonstrate that anandamide can modulate NMDA receptor activity in addition to its role as a cannabinoid receptor ligand.     

BTKbase, mutation database for X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA).

X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA) is an immunodeficiency caused by mutations in the gene coding for Bruton's agammaglobulinemia tyrosine kinase (BTK). A database (BTKbase) of BTK mutations has been compiled and the recent update lists 463 mutation entries from 406 unrelated families showing 303 unique molecular events. In addition to mutations, the database also lists variants or polymorphisms. Each patient is given a unique patient identity number (PIN). Information is included regarding the phenotype including symptoms. Mutations in all the five domains of BTK have been noticed to cause the disease, the most common event being missense mutations. The mutations appear almost uniformly throughout the molecule and frequently affect CpG sites that code for arginine residues. The putative structural implications of all the missense mutations are given in the database. The improved version of the registry having a number of new features is available at http://www. helsinki.fi/science/signal/btkbase.html     

A novel lipid-anchored A-kinase Anchoring Protein facilitates cAMP-responsive membrane events.

Compartmentalization of protein kinases with substrates is a mechanism that may promote specificity of intracellular phosphorylation events. We have cloned a low-molecular weight A-kinase Anchoring Protein, called AKAP18, which targets the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) to the plasma membrane, and permits functional coupling to the L-type calcium channel. Membrane anchoring is mediated by the first 10 amino acids of AKAP18, and involves residues Gly1, Cys4 and Cys5 which are lipid-modified through myristoylation and dual palmitoylation, respectively. Transient transfection of AKAP18 into HEK-293 cells expressing the cardiac L-type Ca2+ channel promoted a 34 9% increase in cAMP-responsive Ca2+ currents. In contrast, a targeting-deficient mutant of AKAP18 had no effect on Ca2+ currents in response to the application of a cAMP analog. Further studies demonstrate that AKAP18 facilitates GLP-1-mediated insulin secretion in a pancreatic beta cell line (RINm5F), suggesting that membrane anchoring of the kinase participates in physiologically relevant cAMP-responsive events that may involve ion channel activation.     

Structure and Development of a Marine Actinosporean, Sphaeractinomyxon ersei n. sp. (Myxozoa)

ABSTRACT This is the first ultrastructural study of the development of a marine actinosporean and of a species belonging to the genus Sphaeractinomyxon Caullery & Mesnil, 1904. S. ersei n. sp. is described from a limnodriloidine oligochaete, Doliodrilus diverticulatus Erséus, 1985, from Moreton Bay. Queensland, Australia. Development is asynchronous, there being all stages from two-celled pansporoblasts through to mature spores present simultaneously within a host. Spores develop in groups of eight within pansporoblasts in the coelom and when mature are located also in the intestinal lumen. The primordial spore envelope and sporoplasm develop separately in the pansporoblast until the polar filament is formed within the polar capsule and the capsulogenic cell cytoplasm has begun to degrade. The sporoplasm then enters the spore through a separated valve junction. Mature spores are triradially symmetrical with three centrally located polar capsules and a single binucleate sporoplasm with about 46 germ cells. Swellings or projections of the epispore do not occur when spores exit the host and contact sea water.     

Spin Trapping of Superoxide from Glass Adherent Polymorphonuclear Leukocytes Induced by N-Formylmethionyl-Leucyl-Phenylalanine

Dahinden et al. reported that N-formylmethionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP)-induced superoxide release from polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) lasted more than 60 min when the cells were allowed to attach to a petri dish before induction. In contrast, it lasted only for 2.5 min when cells were in suspension (J. Clin. Invest. 72: 113-121, 1983). In spite of this report, the effect of cell adhesion has been ignored in most spin trapping studies of superoxide release from PMNs. This study shows that most PMNs in a quartz flat electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) cuvette which was placed horizontally adhered to the wall within 3 min. In contrast, if the cuvette was placed vertically, only 20-30% of the cells became adherent in 30 min. We performed spin trapping studies using 5,5-dimethylpyrroline-N-oxide (DMPO) as a spin trap, and monitored the effect of cell adhesion on superoxide generation. When spin trapping was conducted on PMNs in suspension, the EPR signal of superoxide adduct (DMPO-OOH) was undetectable after stimulation with fMLP. However, PMNs which were allowed to adhere to the cuvette after stimulation generated superoxide for hours. Moreover, when PMNs were allowed to adhere prior to the stimulation, the magnitude of superoxide release was augmented three-to fourfold. Unlike fMLP, phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), which has been most commonly used in spin trapping studies, induced superoxide release which was not influenced by cell adhesion. We emphasize the importance of specifying the cell-adhesion-state in spin trapping studies.