The non-genotoxicity to rodents of the potent rodent bladder carcinogens o-anisidine and p-cresidine.

The two potent rodent bladder carcinogens o-anisidine and p-cresidine, and the structurally related non-carcinogen 2,4-dimethoxyaniline, have been extensively evaluated for genotoxicity to rodents and found to be inactive. Most data were generated on o-anisidine, an agent that is also only marginally genotoxic in vitro. The two carcinogens induced methaemoglobinaemia in rodents indicating that the chemicals are absorbed and metabolically oxidized. Despite their total lack of genotoxicity in vivo, the two carcinogens have the hall-marks of being genotoxic carcinogens given that most test animals of both sexes of B6C3F1 mice and F344 rats are reported to have succumbed rapidly to malignant bladder cancer. No reasons for this dramatic conflict of test data are so far apparent. The experiments described involve, in one or other combination, 2 strains of mice (including B6C3F1) and 4 strains of rat (including F344), the use of oral and i.p routes of exposure and observations made after 1, 3 or 6 doses of test chemical. 6 tissues (including the rat bladder) were assayed using 3 genetic endpoints (unscheduled DNA synthesis, DNA single-strand breaks and micronuclei induction). Aroclor-induced rats were employed in one set of experiments with o-anisidine. In the case of one set of mouse bone-marrow micronucleus experiments the same batch of the 3 chemicals as used in the cancer bioassays, and the same strain of mouse, were used. Possible further experiments and the implications of these findings are discussed.     

Mapping apolipoprotein B on the low density lipoprotein surface by immunoelectron microscopy

Apolipoprotein B (apoB) was mapped using electron microscopy to visualize pairs of monoclonal antibodies binding to the low density lipoprotein (LDL) surface. The sites at which these monoclonals bind the apoB polypeptide sequence had already been established. The angular distances between all possible pairs of binding sites except one allowed the relative placement of six epitopes on the LDL sphere. We conclude that apoB extends over at least a hemisphere of the LDL surface since four epitopes are located in the Northern Hemisphere at sites arbitrarily designated as the North Pole, the Aleutian Islands, Bogotá, and in the Atlantic Ocean, while two are found in the Southern Hemisphere at Buenos Aires and at Madagascar. ApoB appears to possess a restricted flexibility, since these relative epitope locations show a substantial standard deviation in latitude and longitude. Mapping of additional epitopes may provide an answer to the question of whether apoB circumnavigates the LDL sphere.     

Expression of recombinant human apolipoprotein A-I in Chinese hamster ovary cells and Escherichia coli.

Human recombinant apolipoprotein (apo) A-I was produced by Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and Escherichia coli with expression vectors containing cDNAs encoding preproapoA-I or apoA-I, respectively. The apoA-I from CHO cells was purified from the culture medium by ammonium sulfate precipitation, phenyl-Sepharose chromatography, and affinity purification on anti-apoA-I immunoabsorber. Human apoA-I was produced in E. coli as a fusion protein with glutathione S-transferase. A four amino acid linker, which separated the two proteins, was specifically recognized and cut by Factor Xa. The purification was accomplished by chromatography of E. coli extracts on glutathione-Sepharose and digestion with Factor Xa. The highest production level was found to be 0.5 micrograms/ml of culture medium per 48 h for a clone of stable transformant of CHO cells, whereas E. coli could produce as much as 20 micrograms/ml of bacterial culture. These apoA-I forms were compared in terms of molecular weight, isoelectric point, and expression of several epitopes. Recombinant apoA-I obtained from CHO cells appears intact and its isoelectric point is compatible with that of the mature form and the proform of apoA-I, whereas a part of the apoA-I produced by E. coli does not contain the COOH-terminus. Also, two of six epitopes are expressed to a greater extent in apoA-I obtained from E. coli than in apoA-I obtained from human plasma.     

Apolipoproteins as the basis for heterogeneity in high-density lipoprotein2 and high-density lipoprotein3. Studies by isoelectric focusing on agarose films

A method is described for the isoelectric focusing (IEF) of lipoproteins on thin films of agarose. Within a pH gradient of 4.60-5.30 both high-density lipoproteins 2 and 3 (HDL2 and HDL3) are resolved into more than 10 fractions which could be stained either for protein or for lipids. The isoelectric focusing patterns for HDL2 and HDL3 are similar although HDL2 appears richer in the more alkaline bands. Narrow film strips from the IEF separation of HDL2 and HDL3 were interfaced with various agarose plates containing antisera against apolipoproteins apoAI, apoAII and apoCIII either alone or in combination, to provide two-dimensional IEF immunoelectrophoresis patterns. This technique demonstrated that apoAI and apoAII were present throughout the IEF gel for both subclasses of HDL. It also provided evidence for the existence of lipoproteins containing both apoAI and apoAII and other lipoproteins present in the alkaline region of the gel which contained apoAI but no apoAII. ApoCIII was found mostly in acidic lipoproteins and was not distributed identically in HDL2 and HDL3. The lipoproteins separated by IEF on agarose were also analysed by two-dimensional IEF-SDS electrophoresis and the individual apolipoproteins were identified by reaction with antibodies to apolipoproteins AI, AII, CI, CII, CIII, D, and E. This technique confirmed that in IEF of HDL, apoAI extended throughout the spectrum of lipoproteins whereas apoE was only present in alkaline lipoproteins and apoD was only present in acidic lipoproteins. IEF on agarose of either HDL2 or HDL3 allowed us to collect eight different fractions, which have the same pI in either lipoprotein class. The apolipoprotein composition of each isolated band was analysed by electroimmuno-assays for apolipoproteins AI, AII, CI, CII, CIII, D, and E and the results expressed as the ratio of the measured apolipoprotein to measured apoAI. In both HDL2 and HDL3, acidic lipoprotein fractions were enriched in apoAII, apoCIII and apoD. ApoCII and apoCII were not similarly distributed in HDL2 and HDL3 subfractions whereas the apoCI distribution was similar in both classes. Noteworthy in all experiments was the difference in the distributions of apoCI, apoCII, and apoCIII in HDL2 and HDL3, which indicated that the existence of a lipoprotein containing simultaneously CI, CII and CIII can only account for a small fraction of these apolipoproteins. Therefore these experiments substantiate the theory of the protein basis of HDL heterogeneity and suggest that the majority of apolipoproteins are present in complexes which upon IEF result in lipoprotein fractions of identical pI for both HDL2 or HDL3.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Binding of proteins,including pp60src,to activated CH-Sepharose 4B

Activated CH-Sepharose 4B and protein A Sepharose CL-4B can bind, selectively and non-specifically, polypeptides from chick embryo cells. The major polypeptides bound have apparent molecular masses of 57–60 kDa and 47–49 kDa and cannot be eluted by extensive washing with buffers containing detergents. One of the 57–60 kDa polypeptides was identified by immunoblotting as the transforming protein of Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV), pp60src. This polypeptide could be removed from the solid phase immunoabsorbant with 60% dimethylsulfoxide, but not with 2% SDS, 5% -mercaptoethanol, 1 M NaCl or 0.1% Tween 20.     

Physical map and gene localization on sunflower (Helianthus annuus) chloroplast DNA: evidence for an inversion of a 23.5-kbp segment in the large single copy region

As a first step in the study of chloroplast genome variability in the genus Helianthus, a physical restriction map of sunflower (Helianthus annuus) chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) has been constructed using restriction endonucleases BamH I, Hind III, Pst I, Pvu II and Sac. I. Sunflower circular DNA contains an inverted repeat structure with the two copies (23 kbp each) separated by a large (86 kbp) and a small (20 kbp) single copy region. Its total length is therefore about 152 kbp. Sunflower cpDNA is essentially colinear with that of tobacco with the exception of an inversion of a 23.5-kbp segment in the large single copy region. Gene localization on the sunflower cpDNA and comparison of the gene map with that from tobacco chloroplasts have revealed that the endpoints of the inversion are located between the trnT and trnE genes on the one hand, and between the trnG and trnS genes on the other hand.Analysis of BamH I restriction fragment patterns of H. annuus, H. occidentalis ssp. plantagineus, H. grossesseratus, H. decapetalus, H. giganteus, H. maximiliani and H. tuberosus cpDNAs suggests that structural variations are present in the genus Helianthus.     

Modeling of vegetation dynamics in the Mississippi River deltaic plain

An analysis was made of vegetation phenomena associated with cyclic river delta building and abandonment in the Mississippi River deltaic plain, Louisiana. Markov models of vegetation succession were completed for the new Atchafalaya delta and for the abandoned Lafourche delta. Transition matrices representing different flood conditions in the Atchafalaya delta (1979–1984) were used separately and in combinations based on long term river discharge data. Effect of grazing was introduced into the model as a special transition matrix. Succession during active delta building is heavily dependent on a particular sequence of flood conditions and, apparently, on the intensity of grazing. Natural vegetation changes and land losses in the abandoned Lafourche delta were simulated using a transition matrix based on air photographs from 1945 and 1956. A general flow diagram of long cyclic vegetation changes in the Mississippi deltaic plain was completed.We are grateful to G. W. Peterson, R. K. Abernethy, D. E. Parton, W. B. Johnson, D. A. Fuller, C. Neill, J. W. Day, R. E. Turner, F. Sklar, R. Costanza and M. G. Barbour for help and advice during this study.Nomenclature follows D. T. MacRoberts, 1984. The vascular plants of Louisiana. Bull. Mus. Life Sci., Louisiana State University in Shreveport 6: 1–165.Part of this work was supported by the Louisiana Sea Grant College Program maintained by NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce.     

Short-term stimulation of cellular autophagy by furosemide in the thick ascending limb of Henle's loop in the rat kidney

Summary In an effort to investigate the functional relationship between cell-specific work and intracellular degradative processes, the effect of furosemide on cellular autophagy was investigated in two different portions of the nephron, namely, the thick ascending limb of Henle's loop (TAL), which is a main target of this drug, and the proximal convoluted tubule (PCT) as a reference structure. Eight male adult rats were treated with furosemide (60 mg/kg body weight, s.c.). Eight control animals received physiological saline. 1 to 4 h after the injections the animals were killed by perfusion fixation. Small specimens of kidney tissue from the inner stripe of the outer medulla and from the outer cortex were processed for electron microscopy; they were investigated morphometrically for volume fraction and numerical density of autophagic vacuoles (AVs). A significant increase of both parameters (volume fraction: 0.42 × 10^-4 to 1.09 × 10^-4; numerical density: 4.2 × 10⁵/mm³ to 15.5 × 10⁵/mm³) was seen under the influence of furosemide in TAL cells, whereas PCT cells did not show a significant increase in volume fraction or any increase in numerical density of AVs. These data suggest that the functional unloading of TAL, via blocking of the Na⁺- 2Cl^- — K⁺ co-transport by furosemide, results in adaptative structural unloading, i.e., an increased sequestration of cytoplasmic components into AVs, within a short-time interval.     

Separable models for age-structured population genetics

This paper is concerned with the applications of nonlinear age-dependent dynamics to population genetics. Age-structured models are formulated for a single autosomal locus with an arbitrary number of alleles. The following cases are considered: a) haploid populations with selection and mutation; b) monoecious diploid populations with or without mutation reproducing by self-fertilization or by two types of random mating. The diploid models do not deal with selection. For these cases the genic and genotypic frequencies evolve towards time-persistent forms, whether the total population size tends towards exponential growth or not.     

The antarctic diatom: Stellarima microtrias (Ehrenberg) Hasle & Sims cell structure and vegetative cell enlargement in culture

Summary On the whole, the ultrastructure of the vegetative cell of Stellarima microtrias (Ehrenberg) Hasle & Sims, is similar to that of other diatoms. The less common features are non membrane-limited pyrenoids crossed by two discs formed of three thylakoids and non perinuclear dictyosomal units. The enlargement of the cell is not related to sexuality and is the result of a purely vegetative process. Either one or two new vegetative cells are formed in a spherical cell depending on whether the parent cell, from which the spherical cell emerges, contains one or two vegetative nuclei (in mitotic cells before cytokinesis). Only one mitosis occurs with formation of a pycnotic nucleus, this being extruded. The ecological significance of the process is discussed.