Effect of maximal arm exercise on skin blood flux in the paralyzed lower limbs in persons with spinal cord injury

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of maximal arm exercise on the skin blood circulation of the paralyzed lower limbs in persons with spinal cord injury (PSCI). Eight male PSCI with complete lesions located between T3 and L1 performed graded maximal arm-cranking exercise (MACE) to exhaustion. The skin blood flux at the thigh (SBFT) and that at the calf (SBFC) were monitored using laser-Doppler flowmeter at rest and for 15 s immediately after the MACE. The subject's mean peak oxygen uptake and peak heart rate was 1.41 ± 0.22 1·min⁻¹ and 171.6 ± 19.2 beats·min⁻¹, respectively. No PSCI showed any increase in either SBFT or SBFC after the MACE, when compared with the values at rest. These results suggest that the blood circulation of the skin in the paralyzed lower limbs in PSCI is unaffected by the MACE.     

Peroxyoxalate chemiluminescent assay for oxidase activities based on detecting enzymatically formed hydrogen peroxide

A sensitive peroxyoxalate chemiluminescent (PO-CL) assay for activities of oxidases (uricase, choline oxidase, cholesterol oxidase and xanthine oxidase) which catalyse a formation of hydrogen peroxide was developed using 4,4′-oxalyl-bis[(trifluoromethylsulphonyl)imino]trimethylene-bis(4-methylmorpholinium)trifluoromethanesulphonate as a chemiluminogenic reagent and 2,4,6,8-tetramorpholinopyrimido[5,4-d]pyrimidine as a fluorophore. The standard curve for hydrogen peroxide was linear over the range 1 × 10^?7-1 × 10^?4 mol/L. Relative standard deviations for oxidase assays were 5.1–12.7% (n = 10). Detection limits were 1 × 10^?3 U/mL for uricase, 5 × 10^?4 U/mL for choline oxidase, 5 × 10^?3 U/mL for cholesterol oxidase and 5 × 10^?4 U/mL xanthine oxidase (sample to blank ratio, 3).     

Isolation of Serratia marcescens mutants which could overproduce and excrete Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase and beta-lactamase

Serratia marcescens mutants, which excrete Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase (APase) encoded by the plasmid-bearing phoA gene, were isolated after mutagenesis by N-methyl--nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. These mutants produced two to four times as much APase as did the parent strain under a phosphate-limiting condition, and more than 70% of the enzyme was released into the culture medium. In addition, overproduction and excretion of beta-lactamase was observed in these mutants.     

Thermotropic phase properties of 1,2-di-O-tetradecyl-3-O-(3-O-methyl- beta-D-glucopyranosyl)-sn-glycerol.

The hydration properties and the phase structure of 1,2-di-O-tetradecyl-3-O(3-O-methyl-beta-D-glucopyranosyl)-sn-glycerol (3-O-Me-beta-D-GlcDAIG) in water have been studied via differential scanning calorimetry, 1H-NMR and 2H-NMR spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction. Results indicate that this lipid forms a crystalline (Lc) phase up to temperatures of 60-70 degrees C, where a transition through a metastable reversed hexagonal (Hll) phase to a reversed micellar solution (L2) phase occurs. Experiments were carried out at water concentrations in a range from 0 to 35 wt%, which indicate that all phases are poorly hydrated, taking up < 5 mol water/mol lipid. The absence of a lamellar liquid crystalline (L alpha) phase and the low levels of hydration measured in the discernible phases suggest that the methylation of the saccharide moiety alters the hydrogen bonding properties of the headgroup in such a way that the 3-O-Me-beta-D-GlcDAIG headgroup cannot achieve the same level of hydration as the unmethylated form. Thus, in spite of the small increase in steric bulk resulting from methylation, there is an increase in the tendency of 3-O-Me-beta-D-GlcDAIG to form nonlamellar structures. A similar phase behavior has previously been observed for the Acholeplasma laidlawii A membrane lipid 1,2-diacyl-3-O-(6-O-acyl-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl)-sn-glycerol in water (Lindblom et al. 1993. J. Biol. Chem. 268:16198-16207). The phase behavior of the two lipids suggests that hydrophobic substitution of a hydroxyl group in the sugar ring of the glucopyranosylglycerols has a very strong effect on their physicochemical properties, i.e., headgroup hydration and the formation of different lipid aggregate structures.     

Genetic analysis of SecY: additional export-defective mutations and factors affecting their phenotypes

A number of secY mutants of Escherichia coli showing protein export defects were isolated by a combination of localized mutagenesis and secA-lacZ screening. Most of them were cold sensitive and contained single base substitutions in secY leading to amino acid replacements in various parts of the SecY protein, mainly in the cytoplasmic and the transmembrane domains. A temperature-sensitive mutant with an export defect had the same base substitution as secY24, which was characterized previously. Many cold-sensitive secY mutants exhibited rapid responses to temperature lowering but their apparent defects varied at the permissive temperature. Others exhibited delayed responses to the temperature shift. Some secY mutations, including secY39, interfered with protein export when expressed from a multicopy plasmid, even in the presence of wild-type secY on the chromosome. Such dominant negative mutations, including secY ^–d l, which was studied previously, were all located in either cytoplasmic domain 5 or 6, which is consistent with our previous proposal that the C-terminal region of SecY is important for its function as a protein translocator. We also studied the phenotypes of strains in which one of the secY mutations was combined with the components of the SecD operon. Overexpression of SecD partially suppressed the secY39 mutation, while overexpression of secF exacerbated the export defects of secY122 and secY125 mutations. Overexpression of yajC, located within the SecD operon, suppressed sec Y ^–d1. Although yajC itself proved to be dispensable, its disruption impaired the growth of the secY39 mutant at 42°C. These observations suggest that SecY interacts with SecD, SecF, and the product of yajC.     

Comparative study of inhibitory effects by murine interferon γ and a new bisphosphonate (alendronate) in hypercalcemic,nude mice bearing human tumor (LJC-1-JCK)

The inhibitory effect of murine interferon (muIFN) on humoral hypercalcemia in nude mice bearing lower-jaw cancer (LJC-1-JCK), in which parathyroid-hormone(PTH)-related protein is responsible for causing humoral hypercalcemia by activating bone resorption, was examined in comparison with that of a new bisphosphonate, 4-amino-1-hydroxybutylidene-1,1-bisphosphonate (alendronate), muIFN was injected into tumor-bearing nude mice for 5 days before the establishment of hypercalcemia. The increase of plasma calcium concentration was delayed and this effect continued for more than 6 days even after the injection was stopped. Alendronate markedly suppressed hypercalcemia in tumor-bearing nude mice but this inhibitory effect continued for less than 6 days. Neither muIFN nor alendronate affected the tumor volume or serum PTH-related protein concentration. Injection of muIFN into mice for 3 days almost completely abolished the formation of multinucleated osteoclast-like cells from bone marrow cells in vitro, whereas injection of alendronate into mice had no effect. These findings suggested that muIFN suppressed the formation of osteoclasts, resulting in the prolonged decrease of plasma calcium concentration in hypercalcemic tumor-bearing nude mice, whereas alendronate is cytotoxic to functionally mature osteoclasts and inhibited osteoclastic bone resorption, resulting in a marked decrease in the plasma calcium concentration in tumor-bearing hypercalcemic nude mice.     

Methenamine-Silver Staining: a Simple and Sensitive Staining Method for Senile Plaques and Neurofibrillary Tangles

An improved methenamine-silver impregnation method is presented which exhibits sensitivity for amyloid substances comparable to that of anti-β protein immunostaining. In optimally treated sections, this technique stained both β-amyloid deposits and neurofibrillary tangles, which are known to have a β-pleated structure. This simple procedure allows a large number of sections to be stained for routine examination.     

Determinants of the quantity of the stable SecY complex in the Escherichia coli cell.

While SecY in wild-type Escherichia coli cells is stable and is complexed with other proteins within the membrane, moderately overexpressed and presumably uncomplexed SecY was degraded with a half-life of 2 min. The fact that the amount of stable SecY is strictly regulated by the degradation of excess SecY was demonstrated by competitive entry of the SecY+ protein and a SecY-LacZ alpha fusion protein into the stable pool. Simultaneous overexpression of SecE led to complete stabilization of excess SecY. Overproduced SecD and SecF did not affect the stability of SecY, but plasmids carrying ORF12 located within the secD-secF operon partially stabilized this protein. In contrast, mutational reduction of the SecE content (but not the ORF12 content) led to the appearance of two populations of newly synthesized SecY molecules, one that was immediately degraded and one that was completely stable. Thus, the E. coli cell is equipped with a system that eliminates SecY unless it is complexed with SecE, a limiting partner of SecY. Our observations implied that in wild-type cells, SecY and SecE rapidly associate with each other and remain complexed.     

Amplifiedbcl-2/JH rearrangements in reactive lymphadenopathy

Using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to examine the occurrence ofbcl-2/JH joining produced by t(14;18) chromosomal translocation, amplified DNA was detected in 2 of 18 lymph nodes showing reactive lymphadenopathy. The PCR was repeated in these two lymphs nodes using the same DNA samples, but no amplification was detected at the second attempt. Thus the amplified DNA was considered to be derived from one copy of joinedbcl-2/JH in one cell, or from a few copies in a few clonal cells with the same joinedbcl-2/JH. These results suggest that false joining ofbcl-2/JH at the t(14;l8) junction may occur in reactive lymph nodes.